Hockey World Cup: 3 Reasons why Netherlands lost against Germany

#2 Dutch defence destroyed by German blitz

The Germans came out with a renewed vigour in the second quarter and Ruhr’s brilliant stickwork just after the start showed they will not give anything easy for the Dutchmen

There is a cliché that goes with this German team. They measure the opponents before unleashing weapons from their armoury. They did that perfectly in a crucial match against Netherlands.

Apart from the initial shot from Ruhr and the trickery during the first Penalty Corner, there was not much to say about the German team in the first quarter.

The Germans came out with a renewed vigour in the second quarter and Ruhr’s brilliant stickwork just after the start showed they will not give anything easy for the Dutchmen.

They were trying to assert themselves amid odd counter-attacks from the Dutchmen. Finally the perseverance of the German side paid off when Matthias Muller scored from a Penalty Corner to restore parity.

They were absolutely ruthless in the fourth quarter, when they scored three goals in the space of six minutes.

It was Lukas Windfeder who gave Germany the lead in the 52nd minute with a powerful drag flick in the bottom corner. Marco Miltkau increased the lead two minutes later and the last nail on Netherland’s coffin was put by Christopher Ruhr from a penalty stroke.

During the second and third goal, Netherlands’ defensive weaknesses were exposed. They gave too much space to Windfeder to shoot from PC.

Nobody challenged Niklas Wellen when he made the perfect pass to Miltkau during the third goal.