All eyes on Jeroen Hertzberger's farewell

HURLEY - NIJMEGEN
Sunday, 2:45pm

• This is the only match of this round of play where something really crucial is still at stake. Hurley have direct retention completely in their own hands. With three points ahead of bottom-placed Nijmegen, a draw is enough to stay in the Hoofdklasse. 
   
• In the event of a defeat, however, Hurley will drop down to the Promotieklasse, as the goal difference would then be in Nijmegen's favour. In that case, the number of matches won is balanced.
   
• Hurley lost its last seven matches and has been winless since eight games (D1 L7).
   
• Hurley already faced 99 goals this season, the most of any team. 
   
• Nijmegen lost its last 10 matches since the 4-1 win over Hurley in the outward match of the first half of the competition.
   
• Nijmegen has been waiting for a win in 29 away games in the Hoofdklasse (D7 L22).

ROTTERDAM - KLEIN ZWITSERLAND
Sunday, 14:45

• This match is entirely dedicated to the farewell of 39-year-old striker Jeroen Hertzberger, who is quitting Rotterdam after 20 seasons at the highest level. The Hoofdklasse's all-time top scorer hopes to add a few more goals to his 382 league goals.
   
• Rotterdam remained unbeaten in its last 13 matches with KZ (W9 D4) since a 3-2 defeat in The Hague on 4 March 2009.
   
• Rotterdam lost its first two home matches against KZ (1-5 in 2000 and 1-2 in 2003) and since then remained eight home matches in a row without a loss against the Hague team: W W D D D D W W.
   
• Rotterdam lost only one of its last 16 home games (3-4 against Den Bosch on 12 October 2024). For the rest: thirteen wins and two draws.
   
• Middle-ranked Klein Zwitserland has been outplayed for weeks. The team lost five of its last nine matches and won the other four.

HDM - ORANGE-ROOD
Sunday, 2:45pm

• HDM (ninth in the rankings) needs one more point to be sure of premier league hockey next season too. In that case, the team keeps SCHC below them and does not have to play play play-off matches with the number three of the Promotieklasse.
   
• HDM has never won against Oranje-Rood: seven matches ended in one draw (the very first meeting between them) and six defeats.
   
• Of the last six home games, HDM won only one (D3 L2): 2-1 against SCHC on 27 April.
   
• Orange-Rood won four of its last six matches, losing in that series only on a visit to leaders Bloemendaal (2-1). 
   
• Chris Taberima single-handedly accounted for 41 per cent of all HDM's goals this season: 16 out of 39.

BLOEMENDAAL - PINOKÉ
Sunday, 2:45pm

• Bloemendaal won the last two regular league matches with Pinoké since a 2-1 defeat in Amstelveen on 10 November 2023.
   
• Bloemendaal lost only two of the last 23 league matches with Pinoké (W15 D6).
   
• Pinoké could only win one of the last 11 away games against Bloemendaal (1-2 on 6 March 2022). For the rest: five draws and five defeats.
   
• Bloemendaal secured first place in the regular league last week for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. In doing so, the Mussen secured participation in the upcoming EHL season.
   
• Pinoké attacker Miles Bukkens (26 goals) needs one more goal to improve a club record set by Justin Reid-Ross in 2011-2012. The South African was so far the only Pinoké player with more than 25 goals in one premier league season (26).

DEN BOSCH - AMSTERDAM
Sunday, 2:45pm

• This may be a preview of one of the semi-finals in the play-offs for the national title. Amsterdam currently occupies second place in the rankings (46 points from 21 matches), Den Bosch is third (44 points from 21 matches).
   
• Only a Den Bosch defeat and a Kampong victory over SCHC will change the 'format' of the playoffs. In that case, Kampong finishes as the number three and Den Bosch drops to the fourth spot, resulting in a showdown with frontrunner Bloemendaal.
   
• The 2-1 defeat against Amsterdam in the outward match of the first half of the competition ended a run of ten consecutive matches without a loss against the Amsterdammers (W7 D3) for Den Bosch.
   
• Den Bosch remained unbeaten in its last five home matches with Amsterdam (W W D W D). Before that series, Den Bosch suffered ten home defeats in a row against the Amsterdammers.
   
• Den Bosch is the only team this season that has yet to lose a home match (W7 D3).
   
• If Amsterdam wins at Den Bosch, it can call itself the best away team this season together with Bloemendaal with 25 points from 11 matches.

KAMPONG - SCHC
Sunday, 2:45pm

• Kampong won the last eight underdogs with SCHC and are 19 games in a row unbeaten against the team from Bilthoven (W17 D2).
   
• The last edition of Kampong-SCHC - played on 10 October 2021 - ended in a 9-2 win for the home team. Jip Janssen scored a hat-trick for the Utrechters that day.
   
• The last six matches between the two teams were particularly rich in goals: a total of 44 goals were scored, good for an average of seven goals per match.
   
• SCHC needs to win this match to keep the prospect of direct enforcement. At the same time, SCHC is dependent on a misstep by HDM. Only if HDM loses and SCHC itself wins, both teams will be equal in points. Then the number of wins is decisive, and that advantage lies with SCHC. 
   
• Kampong is unbeaten since seven games: W W D D W W. The last league defeat was the 2-1 at Rotterdam on 9 March.
   
• SCHC lost five of its last seven matches in the Hoofdklasse (W2).