SF2: HC ‘s-Hertogenbosch – Düsseldorfer HC

Match report

Den Bosch came through a huge battle to finally get past Düsseldorfer HC as Frédérique Matla held her nerve to score the winner with just two minutes to go.

It ended the German club’s big resistance as they soaked up lots of pressure but could not carry it through to the final whistle and must now content themselves with a BRONZE MATCH fixture.

Early on, Maartje Krekelaar deflected Noor Omrani’s cross onto the outside frame of the goal while Frédérqiue Matla had a golden chance squirm wide and a drag-flick repelled by Nathalie Kubalski.

Out of nowhere, Düsseldorf hit the front when Sanne Koolen slipped while trying to tackle Lilly Stoffelsma. Sara Strauss stepped up to score from the stroke and a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.

Den Bosch hit back within three minutes when the influential Rosa Fernig stepped forward from the back to dribble through a number of tackles. Her pass left Matla with a simple task which she just about took, the ball dribbling slowly over the goal line.

The third quarter saw Düsseldorf put all hands to the pump in front of Kubalski to battle through some hairy moments to keep the waves of Den Bosch attacks out.

On the break, they had their moments with Clara Ycart and Strauss keeping the Dutch club on their toes but it was a primarily a big defensive effort.

That was until two minutes from the end when Krekelaar was knocked over in the circle and a stroke was awarded. Matla stepped forward to make it 2-1 and continue their challenge for a second EHL Women’s title in three seasons.