A resolute Netherlands saw off a late fight from Australia to surge into the final of the HWl Final to set up a title showdown with New Zealand, who pipped England in a dramatic shootout on Friday evening at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, here.
With two early goals from Constantijn (12th minute) and Mink van der Weerden (20th), The Dutch couldn't have got off to a better start and dominated the first half.
In the second half, Ric Charlesworth coached Australians managed to pull things back with three goals via Kieran Govers' brace (42nd, 55th) and Russel Ford in the 47th minute. Then, they threatened to take the match away with the help of a strong defence. However, the Oranje fought back with the equaliser from Jeroen Hertzberger in the 62nd minute and then Weerden's bludgeoning hit from a short corner, four minutes before the final hooter, coupled with a robust defence in the final moments of the semi-final, sealed the deal for the Dutch.
In the other last-four encounter, New Zealand scored through Marcus Child (12th), Stephen Jeness (61st) and Hugo Inglis (62nd) while the English team found their goal-scorers in Harry Martin (23rd ), Mark Gleghorne (49th) and Ashley Jackson (64th). After the 70 minutes of play ended in 3-3, New Zealand scored seven times of their 10 chances while England, who had won all their four previous games, scored six.
This was a sweet revenge for New Zealand, who had lost to the same opponent 1-5 in one of the pool encounters. “A lot of people will be surprised to see us in the final,” Blacksticks coach Colin Batch said after the match.
England will play Australia for the third-place at 5.45 PM on Saturday, followed by the final at 8.00 PM.