Paris — Joep de Moel, playing his 150th match, came back into the Dutch fold after illness for this Euro heavyweight encounter. It meant another match-up with Phil Roper, his co-hosting friend on their podcast Let’s Stick Together. And for large portions of this energy-sapping clash, these two teams looked set for a sticky stalemate, not the 2-2 draw which left Colombes in a frenzy.
Despite Great Britain men dominating for large swathes, it was the Dutch who had unlocked the GB defence as Ollie Payne twice came unstuck at his left post in the second-half from stinging Oranje shots. Twice outstretched Dutch arms raced away in an eight-minute period either side of final two quarters. “A real sucker punch,” as Zach Wallace noted afterwards.
And then, as hockey can so often provide, a cauldron of chaos ensued deep into the game.
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