Caribou And The Dutch

The Canadian men's field hockey team could use a boost in Tokyo as they struggled against two of the world's best teams in Germany and Great Britain in arriving at their current 0-2 record. It's fairly clear that the Caribou's defence and goalkeeping are the team's strengths, but scoring goals and sustaining offence has proved most difficult for the Canadians in this tournament as they have just two goals on six shots through two games. The Dutch stood before them today - would things change?

The late game on a hot and humid night in Tokyo saw the Dutch get things started early as they moved the ball quickly and precisely down to the right corner where Mink van der Weerden centered to the top of the circle. A deflection there landed in a shooting position for Billy Bakker, and his shot hit goalkeeper Antoni Kindler, but still had enough zip on it to find the back of the net as Netherlands took a 1-0 lead just 52 seconds into this match.

It was fairly apparent that the Dutch wanted to get out in front early in this game and remain there. On a quick transition, Thierry Brinkman hammered a low shot past Kindler from the left side of the circle in the fourth minute, and it was 2-0 for the Dutch very early and very quickly. Caanda had an opportunity to cut into the lead in the sixth minute with a penalty corner, but Gordon Johnston's flick was denied by Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak as Canada's scoring woes off penalty corners continued.

The good news is that Canada would figure out how to weather the aggressive Dutch attack, and they would make the Dutch pay with their own aggressiveness as James Wallace's strong play in the Dutch end would see him get a ball into the circle where Gabriel Ho-Garcia had his flick blocked, but Wallace swooped on and pounced on the loose ball, sending it between Blaak's legs in the tenth minute to cut the lead to 2-1! Canada and Netherlands would trade chances in the final five minutes, but the horn would sound on an entertaining first quarter of hockey as the Netherlands led 2-1!

The second quarter saw the two teams settle into a defensive routine as both sides were in denial mode in their own ends. The Dutch were still the more aggressive team when it came to scoring chances, but Kindler and the Canadian defence surrendered no goals in this quarter to keep the game at the 2-1 score as the teams went into halftime.

The third quarter was played much like the second quarter where the two teams looked for areas to attack in each other's defensive systems, but neither finding many opportunities. Canada's offence flowed much better in both the second and third quarters as they were able to move the ball quickly and precisely, but they still were short on shots that tested Blaak. A late penalty corner for the Dutch was kicked out by Kindler as the Dutch, at that point 0-for-11 on penalty corners, failed to increase their lead with seconds to play. The horn would sound at the end of the third quarter with the Dutch still leading by that 2-1 advantage.

The Dutch would find some room to increase their lead in the fifth minute of the fourth quarter. Joep de Mol picked up a ball near midfield, pushed it to the right side as he bore down on the Canadian defence, and he let a wicked strike go of which Kindler got a piece, but the ball just inched its way across the goal line to make it a 3-1 game for the Dutch!

Canada, knowing that an 0-3 hole in this tournament might be insurmountable, pressed for more goals. In the eighth minute of the frame, Canada was awarded a penalty corner, and they would find magic as Scott Tupper's low shot was redirected past Blaak by Mark Pearson to make it a 2-1 game on Canada's first successful penalty corner of the tournament! Suddenly, Canada had life and the Dutch were on their heels as they led by a single goal once again!

Late in the game, Canada pulled Kindler as they added the extra attacker, and there were chances for the Caribou to square the game. However, with the clock ticking down and needing a goal, the Dutch would patiently wait for a mistake that Mirco Pruijser would convert into an empty-net goal in the dying seconds as the Dutch win this game by a 4-2 score!

In other games, Pool A action in the women's tournament from Monday saw the Netherlands win 4-0 over Ireland, Great Britain take a 4-1 victory from South Africa, and Germany shutout India 2-0. Pool B women's games from Monday had Australia crush China 6-0, New Zealand outlast Japan 2-0, and Argentina down Spain 3-0.

Tuesday's action from the men's draw in Pool A had Australia over Argentina by a 5-2 score, Japan and New Zealand playing to a 2-2 draw, and India defeating Spain by a 3-0 score. The other Pool B games saw Germany defeat Great Britain by a 5-1 score while Belgium ran all over South Africa in a 9-4 victory.

Canada, falling to 0-3 after today's loss, will need the game of their lives as they prepare to face the world champions and top-ranked Belgium on Thursday. Canada will likely need all six points if they hope to make the quarterfinal round at the Tokyo Olympics, and that starts by handing the 3-0 Belgians their first loss. I'm quite certain I don't need to tell you this, but taking a game off Belgium will require a monumental effort. Consider this game to be Canada's gold-medal match at this point. Canada, who sits sixth out of six teams in the pool due to goal differential, is going into the match with their heads held high.

"It's not over. We have two more games, and we have six points to get, to push us into the quarters," defender John Smythe told Field Hockey Canada. "We're going to hit the reset button. We have a rest day tomorrow, let's get recovered and we're going to focus on the next game and see if we can get six points."

If Canada can do the unthinkable, they'll also have to win against the South African squad on Friday. If South Africa loses their Thursday match against Germany, they could play the role of spoilers in trying to upend Canada's chances of making the quarterfinal round. Needless to say, the deck is stacked against Canada, but they faced the same pressure in trying to get to Tokyo where they needed a miracle win against the Irish just to qualify.

And here they are in Tokyo. To steal a line from ice hockey, do you believe in miracles?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the pitch!