Hockeyroos lose to the Netherlands 2-0 in hockey World Cup final
Updated
Australia's women had to settle for silver at the hockey World Cup after going down 2-0 to the Netherlands in the final on Sunday morning.
The Hockeyroos were valiant but outclassed by a relentless Dutch outfit who were spurred on by a 15,000-strong partisan crowd in The Hague.
Watch live Tune in as the Kookaburras take on the Netherlands in the men's hockey World Cup final on ABC2 from 10:55pm Sunday night.
It is the seventh World Cup for the Dutch, who prevailed through goals by captain Maartje Paumen and Kim Lammers.
"I thought it was an excellent performance by our team under the circumstances," Hockeyroos coach Adam Commens told Grandstand.
...against that quality of opponent, you have to take those chances in the big games and put a bit of scoreboard pressure on them. Hockeyroos coach Adam Commens
"We played against the Olympic champions and world number one team on their home pitch.
"We created opportunities, we had three penalty corners, we had a number of goal shots in the first half, and against that quality of opponent, you have to take those chances in the big games and put a bit of scoreboard pressure on them.
"Unfortunately we weren't able to do that, [the Netherlands] were able to take their chances and did really well."
Despite the loss, the result highlights the improvement shown in the Hockeyroos, who entered the tournament ranked fourth in the world and have moved up to second.
It is their best result in a major tournament since earning silver in the 2009 Champions Trophy.
The Dutch broke the deadlock on 12 minutes when awarded a penalty stroke, after forward Roos Drost had been brought down by Australian goalkeeper Rachael Lynch.
Unflappable veteran Paumen stepped up to take the penalty and calmly flicked into the top corner, sending the mostly orange-clad crowd into hysterics.
Six minutes before the break, Australia's hopes plummeted when Kim Lammers doubled the Dutch advantage.
Finishing off a sublime series of passes, Lammers had her first shot on goal saved by Lynch - whose deflection fall straight at the feet of the Dutch forward, who did not miss a second time.
Lynch, a standout all tournament for Australia, was again a colossus in goal, repelling wave after wave of orange offence.
By game's end she had tallied eight saves - some of them spectacular.
Australia earned its first penalty corner on the stroke of half-time, but was unable to convert and carried a two-goal deficit into the break.
Precious few opportunities fell for the Hockeyroos who managed just three shots on goal, though forward Emily Hurtz was typically busy up front and forced a good save from goalkeeper Joyce Sombroek early on.
Australia's defence held firm after the break, matching its 2-0 loss to the Dutch in the round games.
Defender Kate Jenner was shown a green card for a physical challenge with three minutes remaining.
The loss continues the Netherlands' stranglehold over Australia in major competitions.
The Hockeyroos have not beaten the Dutch in major competition outside of Australia since their 3-2 victory to secure gold at the 1998 World Cup in Utrech 16 years ago.
Australia's men play for gold, also against the Dutch, on Sunday.
AAP
Topics: field-hockey, sport, netherlands, australia
First posted
In  at , ,  defeated the Netherlands to win the  yesterday, and was defeated by the Netherlands in the  on Saturday. Never before have the same two countries played in both Hockey World Cup finals in a single year.


In the men's final, the , known as the Kookaburras and coached by , successfully defended the World Cup they won back in 2010 with a 6–1 win over the , which was playing in its first final since 1998. 

The Netherlands put the Kookaburras on the back foot when  scored the first goal. In five consecutive games in the series the Australians had scored their first goal in the first seven minutes. Australia's  equalised with a goal from a . Another goal by  gave the Kookaburras a 2–1 lead at the half time break. Four more goals in the second half, including one by 321-game veteran , put the result beyond doubt.

The story was very different in the women's competition, where the , known as the Hockeyroos, were the underdogs, having not made a final in the World Cup or the  since 2006. They made this final only after defeating the  in a semi-final  after a 2–2 draw in which the teams alternated goals, each Australian goal followed by a US goal by . Whereas, the Netherlands team had scored 21 goals in the tournament up to this point, while only conceding one, and had not been beaten by Australia since 1998. 

Netherlands captain  scored the first goal of the match from a , giving the Netherlands team their seventh Hockey World Cup win.  then made it 2–0.  Neither side was able to score in the second half, but it was not for want of trying, and Australian goal keeper  ended up with a total of eight saves.

 defeated the United States 2–1 in the women's bronze medal game.