Men’s and women’s hockey teams runners-up in Amsterdam
The two teams both lost their finals to the Netherlands at the weekend, but can be pleased with their achievements in the EuroHockey Nations Championship
Double duty
As runners-up, they can both boast a remarkable performance, but they left the field disappointed that they weren’t taking home the trophy.
The men’s side, the Red Lions, were 2-0 up against reigning champions and hosts the Netherlands at half-time in Sunday’s final– and had also beaten them 5-0 six days earlier. But the Dutch claimed their fifth European gold in an extraordinary comeback, winning 4-2 in front of 10,000 people in Amsterdam’s Wagener stadium.
Belgium’s European silver medal equals the Red Lions’ best-ever result, when they lost in the final to Germany on home soil in 2013.
The women’s team, the Red Panthers, lost 3-0 to the Dutch on Saturday. Despite not scoring and finding themselves on the back foot for most of the final, Belgium achieved their best-ever European finish by beating Germany 1-0 in Thursday’s semi-final.
It came just a few weeks after the Red Panthers were beaten on penalties by South Korea in the final eight of the Women’s World League Semi-Finals in Brussels.
Photo: Dirk Waem/Belga
