Wasteful Belgium edge out Canada
Much like their football team, the Belgian hockey outfit is also experiencing a golden era with some of the best players in the world. Reigning ‘FIH Player of the Year’ Arthur van Doren, captain Thomas Briels and experienced striker Tom Boon, among others, play as a collective unit. And that unity was very much visible at the Kalinga Stadium as they defeated Canada 2-1 in the opening game of the World Cup on Sunday.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallists hit the attack button the moment the field umpire blew his whistle. Making inroads from the start, their attack produced the first goal of the 19-day tournament when Felix Denayer put in the ball, which was developed beautifully by the Belgian forwardline. Van Doren, who was also voted as the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ by FIH last year, pushed in the ball beyond the striking circle, which was deflected perfectly into the goal by Denayer. Belgium, currently ranked world No 3, dominated possession — as much as 75 percent in the first quarter.
They didn’t have to wait long for their second goal as some lovely stickwork by their forwards deceived the Canadian defence with Briels scoring with ease in the 22nd minute to double their lead. Belgium slowed down their pace in the latter half which worked in favour of the Canadians. The Scott Tupper-led team, dominated in the first three quarters, sensed the opportunity and tried making counterattacks in the fourth quarter.
And that helped as Canada earned two back-to-back penalty corners (47th). Though they wasted the first, Mark Pearson scraped the ball through to pull a goal back for Canada.
“The way we started the game, the final scoreline should have been different. Canada bounced back strongly after the second quarter and gave us a good fight. But good for us that it was a narrow victory. We can work on certain departments in coming matches,” said Briels after the win. Despite being labeled favourites, Belgians also showed a few chinks in their armour. The outfit wasted all seven short-corner opportunities, something Harendra Singh’s boys will note down for their December 2 clash.