Kampong reach play-offs, EHL ticket for Bloemendaal

Nijmegen - Kampong 3-5
Kampong qualified for the playoffs thanks to a 3-5 win over bottom-placed Nijmegen. The Utrechters enjoyed a dream start in Nijmegen. Jip Janssen opened the scoring from a penalty corner, his 150th major league goal. Within fifteen minutes, the score was already 0-3 thanks to a penalty corner by Bram van Battum and a goal by Duco Telgenkamp. Rik Sprengers even made it 0-4, before Cas Leenen did something back for Nijmegen.

After half-time, the home team came back to 2-4 through David Blom, but Derck de Vilder's penalty corner gave Kampong a margin of three again. Tijn Stuve's late goal did not prevent Nijmegen from suffering its tenth defeat in a row. Next week Nijmegen and Hurley will decide which team will be relegated directly to the Promotieklasse.

Amsterdam - Bloemendaal 1-2
In the 95th edition of the Klassieker, a notable name returned to Amsterdam's squad: Billy Bakker. The former international, who announced his retirement from top hockey in the summer of 2021, was asked to step in due to the absence of Robbert Kemperman, Dayaan Cassiem, Sam Steins Bisschop and Siem Schoenaker. Bloemendaal also did not appear at full strength at Wagener Stadium. The team had to make do without Floris van der Kroon, Teun Beins and Marc Miralles. Bloemendaal laid the foundations for victory as early as the first quarter. 

Jasper Brinkman opened the scoring in the third minute from a penalty corner and not much later Jorrit Croon also doubled the lead from a penalty corner. In the last quarter, Amsterdam came back into the game thanks to a scored penalty stroke by Boris Burkhardt. With his 27th goal of the season, he brought back tension, but the Amsterdammers could not come alongside. With the win, Bloemendaal secured first place in the regular league, a position that entitles them to participate in the EHL.

Klein Zwitserland - HDM 3-1
After four consecutive draws, Klein Zwitserland finally won another derby against Hague city rival HDM. The home team led 3-0 after just one quarter after three penalty corner goals. Lars Daniels opened the scoring in the ninth minute, then Chad Futcher doubled the lead two minutes later. In the fifteenth minute, Aki Käppeler made it even 3-0. HDM could not come back until the third quarter through a penalty stroke by Chris Taberima, his sixteenth goal of the season. Despite the defeat, HDM maintains a three-point lead over SCHC, which is in tenth place.

SCHC - Rotterdam 1-2
Rotterdam climbed to fifth place on the league table after the 2-1 win in Bilthoven over SCHC. The Rotterdam team took the lead in the first quarter through Guus Jansen. After half-time, the home team equalised through Alistair Empey. Rotterdam eventually pulled out the win after a goal by Tjep Hoedemakers in the last quarter. It was the eighth win in a row for the Rotterdammers in a mutual match with SCHC, which remains tenth, three points behind number nine HDM.

Pinoké - Hurley 4-1
Pinoké had few problems with Hurley during the Bosderby. It finished 4-1. Miles Bukkens accounted for half of the production of Pinoké. He took his season total to 26 goals and equalled the club record of Justin Reid-Ross, who scored the same number of goals in the 2011-2012 season. For Hurley, this seventh consecutive defeat means the team can prepare for a crucial game against Nijmegen next weekend to avoid direct relegation from the Tulp Hoofdklasse.

Orange-Rood - Den Bosch 4-4
The Brabant derby was a true goal-fest that had no winner. Den Bosch opened the score five minutes after the exit through Max Kreft, but Oranje-Rood hit back with three goals before half-time. The 3-1 came off the stick of Jelle Galema. The utilised penalty stroke was his 100th goal in the Tulp Hoofdklasse. After half-time, Den Bosch came back into the game. First Koen Bijen, in double figures in terms of goals for the fifth season in a row, reduced the deficit. Then Timo Boers equalised with his 27th goal of the season, but Tijmen Reyenga brought Oranje-Rood back into the lead with his second goal of the match. It was not enough for the win, as Marc Vizcaíno scored the final score 4-4 in the very last minute. The draw dropped Oranje-Rood from fifth to sixth place in the league table.