- Men's
Play-outs (H): Schaerweijde promotes, Hurley retains
Schaerweijde's men return to the Tulp Hoofdklasse after the 1-0 win over SCHC, after the first match had ended 2-2 a day earlier. Hurley avoided relegation by being stronger than Tilburg in the shoot-outs series. Hurley won the return match 3-2 on Sunday, after the first game was won by the same figures by the Tilburgers.
Hurley faced a tough task in Tilburg. The 3-2 defeat at their own Amsterdam Forest meant the Amstelveen team had to win to avert relegation to the Promotieklasse. From the exit there was fight. Storm Poplar tried on behalf of Tilburg, but his shot went wide. Moments later, the first penalty corner followed for Hurley. That corner yielded nothing. The execution of the variant was too complex.
Josh Keaveney cleverly lanced, but goalkeeper Jan van Groesen of Tilburg did not allow himself to be surprised. The same Van Groesen later also parried a penalty corner by Hjalmar Voskuil. It was waiting for the goal, but at half-time the score was still 0-0 on the board.
After the break, the matches completely ignited. It was Hurley that opened the score through a penalty corner by Indra Aerts. In the overall score over two games, the teams were level again.
The fourth quarter started with fireworks: within minutes goals fell on both sides. From a Tilburg penalty corner, specialist Pim Haring equalised. The joy was short-lived. Within a minute, Hurley was allowed to take a corner and Aerts dragged in the 1-2. The spectacle was not over yet. Tilburg also got a penalty corner within a minute. And again it was Haring who scored.
With this score, Tilburg was assured of promotion, but Hurley did not give up. The team got three corners in a row, to no avail. Until Josh Keaveney did find that hole in the end and put the 2-3 on the scoreboard.
As the total score was tied over two games (5-5), shoot-outs had to bring the decision. Hurley then did a 'Tim Krulletje' by having reserve goalie Christopher Combe goalkeep the shoot-outs series. After ten attempts it was 1-1, then Rik Gosens names Tilburg missed in the sudden-death. Hjalmar Voskuil kept his cool and pushed Hurley to survival.
In Zeist, everything was still open after the 2-2 between Schaerweijde and SCHC a day earlier in Bilthoven. Whereas the first game still resembled a game of chess, the matches in the Zeister Kuil flew around the ears from the first whistle.
Yet it did not take long for the home crowd to cheer. Already after twelve minutes Schaerweijde got a penalty corner. A day earlier, the team failed to get it in, but this time they did. Thur Stadelmaier did not hesitate and pushed the ball past SCHC goalkeeper Fritz Schnoeckel: 1-0.
After the break, SCHC came out of the dressing room with more fire. The team quickly converted a penalty corner, but it did not result in a chance - the pass went awry.
With eight minutes left on the clock, SCHC put all their cards on the table. Goalkeeper Schnoeckel was replaced by an extra fielder. Schaerweijde held on and returned to the highest level after a year's absence. For SCHC, the dream of a longer stay in the Tulp Hoofdklasse is over after just one season.
