England took on the Netherlands at Bisham Abbey on this morning (Sunday) and beat them 3-2 in a pulsating match in front of a crowd of around 850. A warm up match for the Euro Nations Championships in late August, it was the first time that England had beaten Holland for some years.
On a wet and blustery day the sun stayed out as England took the lead through James Tindall in the eighth minute after good advantage played by the Spanish umpire. And they nearly made it two a minute later but the shot was just wide. England continued to put the Dutch under pressure and Floris Evers was given a green card for persistent fouling. Their pressure paid off when Matt Daly (pictured) was tackled in the circle and he, along with goalkeeper Gus Vogels and defender Marcel Balkestein, ended up in a heap. Daly was quickest to react and push the ball into the open net to make it 2-0.
The Dutch finally got their first penalty corner and up stepped Taeke Taekema to score in the top left corner past a diving James Fair to make it 2-1 at half time. England came out again fighting in the second half and were rewarded with another goal from Matt Daly (with Surbiton fans going wild on the sidelines) putting England into a 3-1 lead. But five minutes later Taekema stepped up again for the second Dutch corner to score from a low shot which Fair got a foot to, but which trickled over the line.
The Dutch put even more pressure on the England defence but Fair was up to the mark with some fine saves, including two more from penalty corners, one of which was much disputed with only two minutes to go. England, however, held out for a well-earned win. Captain Barry Middleton, who plays his hockey in Holland, was very happy, though quite what his team-mates in Holland will have to say when he gets back is another matter! But he was looking forward to the next games against India starting on 27 July.
The only dampener on the game was Richard Alexander's yellow card which many said was lucky not to be a red.
