ISLAMABAD: Hosts the Netherlands made a thumping start to their campaign to reclaim the World Cup hockey crown, overcoming New Zealand 5-1 at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen on Sunday.
The Dutch were forced to come from behind before producing a devastating second-half display, scoring five goals to sweep aside New Zealand and delight a packed home crowd.New Zealand stunned the hosts by taking the lead in the 23rd minute through James Hickson. The Netherlands responded 11 minutes later to restore parity and then turned up the pressure with a relentless attacking display that eventually took the game away from the Black Sticks.
The victory gave the Netherlands an ideal start in one of the toughest pools of the World Cup. Argentina and Japan are the other two teams in the group.In the other matches of the day, Spain defeated South Africa 3-1, while co-hosts Belgium survived a spirited challenge from France to record a narrow 3-2 victory.
Belgium and France were locked at 2-2 until the 55th minute before Alexander Hendrickx struck the decisive goal five minutes before the final hooter to secure a hard-fought victory for the hosts.
