The Dutch Hoofdklasse returns on Sunday with two bumper fixtures with the men’s programme headed up by HC Bloemendaal and SV Kampong while Den Bosch host AH&BC Amsterdam in the women’s competition.
All 12 games are set to be broadcast – either via Ziggo or live streams – offering an incredible set of matches for hockey fans around the world to enjoy.
For the Bloemendaal tie, they go into the match with a healthy six point lead after seven matches with HC Rotterdam in second while Kampong are third, another two points back but with a game in hand.
As such, the fixture is vital for the Utrecht club if they are to start making inroads into Bloemendaal’s advantage, something which Terrance Pieters says his side are in great shape to do.
“We are ready and will collect three points in Bloemendaal on Sunday,” he said to hockey.nl, adding that he is keen to build on his excellent form before the Hoofdklasse came to a halt.
“This isn’t arrogant but I think I am physically in good shape and often have an advantage over my opponents. I have a lot of energy and I simply make use of it.
“I steal a relatively large number of balls from defenders and that is how we create a lot of our transition moments.
“I am reasonably satisfied,” he says of his increased goal output this season. “But I think I can score even more. As an attacker, I have to contribute on this front.
“That means that I have to be involved in attacks, get corners, give assists and score. It is not that I focus on goals, because I am not a circle striker but I do think that, as an attacker, I should be the end of things more often.”
It is among plenty of big games with HGC hosting AH&BC Amsterdam’s men while Den Bosch take on Rotterdam on Sunday.
In the women’s competition, Den Bosch put their perfect record on the line when they face second place Amsterdam who sit two points back after seven rounds of matches. The game will be broadcast live by Ziggo in the Netherlands (from 12.10pm CET).
Both are unbeaten in the 2020/21 season and Amsterdam’s Noor de Baat is thrilled to get the chance to try and end their rivals’ record after a productive series of friendly matches this month.
“It has been wonderful to be able to train with the whole group again for two weeks,” the 20-year-old told hockey.nl.
“Finally, we can all play matches again! In recent weeks, we have seen great things emerge in the team, especially in terms of teamwork in our attacking structure. We will have to work on that even further in the coming weeks.
“The difference between us and Den Bosch is small, the qualities are very close to each other,” she adds. “We are in good shape. If we continue to work for the team in the build-up phases and, also, continue to work optimally for each other without the ball, then we are at our best.”
Fourth plays third, meanwhile, in Bilthoven with SCHC looking to try and close the gap to this season’s surprise package HDM who are four points above them.