Pinoké and HC Bloemendaal are assured of a place in next year’s EHL following their spectacular wins through to the Dutch men’s championship final with success against AH&BC Amsterdam and HGC, respectively.
For Pinoké, they took the direct route through to the final with two wins from two in their best of three series, beating Amsterdam 3-0 on Saturday.
Miles Bukkens put them in front in the 15th minute from a penalty corner and they were in the clear when Belgian star Sebastian Dockier doubled the lead before half-time.
Dockier then made the game safe when he touched in from Alexander Hendrickx’s powerful ball into the circle. They have now earned their place in the EHL for the first time, becoming the eighth Dutch men’s side to be part of it.
** click here to watch highlights from Pinoké’s win over Amsterdam.
Bloemendaal, meanwhile, were pushed to the limit by HGC who won Saturday’s game two 3-1 to take the game to a decisive third meeting.
And, on Sunday, HGC looked like they could continue their incredible late season run when they took the lead in the second half via Alan Forsyth.
But Tim Swaen levelled the game just three minutes later and the game was won in the 45th minute with a sublime piece of work from Roel Bovendeert from close range. It ultimately won them the game 2-1 and keeps alive their chances of retaining their Hoofdklasse/EHL double.