The Netherlands Antilles, who were this morning joint leaders after three matches in the round-robin stage of the Olympic Qualifiers in Kazan, may have thrown away their chances of a place in the finals after going down 3-2 to Belgium. The Netherlands Antilles scored first after 21 minutes from Maria Hinskens but despite dominating much of the match they could not stop the Belgians coming back in second half with three goals in seven minutes. The scorers; Sofie Gierts (2) and Olivia Bouche. In their desperation to regain the lead the Antilles lost their discipline and saw three playing sin-binned in the space of two minutes, including their captain Ernestina Schreuder. An overtime penalty corner conversation by Marlies Van De Stel gave the Antilles a consolation goal but the three points go to Belgium. Belgium and the Netherlands Antilles are now both on nine points with the Belgians ahead on goal difference.
Leaders, the USA, kept up their unbeaten record with a 4-0 win over India. In the other match played today Russia beat France 5-2.
Tomorrow is a rest day with games resuming on Saturday, with the headline match being the meeting between the USA and the Netherlands Antilles. Belgium will play Russia who are currently lying in 5th place.
