The women of Den Bosch and Tilburg qualified for the final of the battle for the Gold Cup on Thursday. Among the men, Almere and Den Bosch secured a ticket to the final round of the cup tournament.
Gold Cup Ladies
Den Bosch* – Amsterdam 3-3
Den Bosch fought back from a 1-3 deficit in the final stages of the clash with Amsterdam. Late goals by Frédérique Matla and Sanne Koolen ensured a 3-3 final score, after which shoot-outs had to bring the decision. Those fell to the home team, with only Matla leaving her shoot-out unused. At Amsterdam, Maria Verschoor and Fay van der Elst saw their attempts fail. Laura Nunnink hit the decisive shoot-out.
At Oosterplas it looked for a long time as if Den Bosch would suffer a rare home defeat. Amsterdam was the most dangerous team for three quarters and had the best chances. After a 1-1 halftime score through goals by Fay van der Elst (0-1) and Lieve Wijckmans, coach Teun de Nooijer’s team had taken a 1-3 lead early in the first quarter through Agustina Gorzelany and Noa Muller.
Fiona Morgenstern (left) celebrates Fay van der Elst’s opening goal against Den Bosch. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
That Den Bosch, which is in the cup final for the third time in the last four years, was still able to repair that deficit was miraculous. The team of coach Marieke Dijkstra had to do it with only fourteen fit players. Rosa Fernig (ankle) was injured in the warm-up and Joosje Burg (hamstring problems) quit after the first half. For the home team, Imme van der Hoek only made her first minutes of the season after a long-term eye injury.
Tilburg* – Oranje-Rood 0-0
The friendly from Brabant did not result in any goals after sixty minutes in a game in which tension prevailed. Tilburg started strongly but missed several chances in the first quarter. The home team also had some good chances just after halftime, including a series of penalty corners by Mikki Roberts. But these also did not result in the liberating opening goal. Oranje-Rood also showed more and more, but an Eindhoven goal did not materialize.
The nerve-racking shoot-outs were won by the home team. Daphne Nikkels made sure Tilburg was celebrating with her well struck goal, as they reached the final for the first time in Gold Cup history. There it will meet Den Bosch on April 6.
Gold Cup Men
Almere* – Victoria 1-1
Promotion-ranked Almere and Victoria needed shoot-outs to decide their semi-final match. After sixty minutes of field hockey, the final score was 1-1. Just before the end of the third quarter, the home team had taken a 1-0 lead through Krijn Postuma. Just as the home crowd was getting ready to celebrate, Wessel Glazener equalized from a penalty corner in the final minute.
The Almere crowd could still celebrate, as the home team took the shoot-outs better. This marks the third consecutive season Almere has reached the Gold Cup final. The previous two finals – against Den Bosch in 2023 and Kampong in 2024 – were both lost by large numbers.
Den Bosch – Schaerweijde 8-1
Den Bosch, the number two in the Tulip big league, had no problem with Schaerweijde, the number five in the Promotion division. The visitors from Zeist took an early lead at Oosterplas via a Lucas Corstens penalty corner, but did not stand a chance against the Bossche machine, which worked at full speed after the break and eventually produced eight goals.
Joy after another Bossche goal against Schaerweijde. Photo: Bart Scheulderman
Youth player Sweder Koens (JO18) scored a hat trick for the home team. The other Bossche hits came off the stick of Timo Boers (two), Koen Bijen, Joppe Wolbert and Thierry Brinkman. Den Bosch will face the Gold Cup final on April 6 for the third time in history, following previous finals in 2018 and 2023.
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