You, of course, know that Australia defeated the Netherlands in a rather lopsided match as the Aussies were favored to win as they’d done it before on separate occasions.
Highlights
Belgian raised a few eyebrows with the controversial and heated arguments over the extra length of the “Broom.”
It seems there is a loophole in the rules that lets Jeremy Gucassoff swap out his normal play stick for a much longer one he uses for “shoot outs” and penalty shots. This, of course, gives him a marketed advantage over other goalkeepers.
This has helped him in the past in blocking shots and has helped his team lock in a berth Euro Hockey semi-finals.
Is the use of a longer stick fair? Well, it has saved their bacon numerous times and it’s not like they aren’t aware of the rules as they have been in existence since 1894/1895. (Depending on whom you ask)
So, until someone in the FIH gives us ruling, the other teams in the league may just have to follow suit if they want to stay competitive.
Because like it or not, the “Broom” does block shots and that can change the entire course of a match, especially during the World Cup coming in 2018.
If you look at the pictures of the Belgian group in their team photos, they are all smiling so maybe they have something else up their sleeve for the coming year. Only time will tell.
Upsets
With all the glamor and hype about the 2014 World cup, one of the things went unremarked for the most part.
Women’s field hockey has undergone an upheaval as the English woman’s Team has been making great strides toward a march to the championship and taking the cup.
They went from a 4th ranking to 3rd in only a year’s time, which is a phenomenal distance to cover in just a short period of time.
Though they didn’t win the 2014 “Cup”, they’ve set their sights on 2018 as the year of Women in the FIH.
Perhaps they may even take a leaf out of the Belgian Men’s playbook and use a longer stick. But they were able to defeat the Belgians in penalties, which indicates that the Belgium Women’s team hadn’t caught on to their mate’s strategy.
But in any case, The England woman’s team will be the one to watch in upcoming matches during 2015. This will be a foretaste of what we can expect in 2018.