Olympic champions Argentina got the better of Netherlands with a late surge while top ranked Australia managed to carve out a 3-3 draw against Belgium in an fast-paced encounter in the first round matches of the FIH Champions Trophy being played in Breda, Netherlands.
Argentina, who would face India in the second round on Sunday, suffered an early reversal when Mirco Pruijser scored for the hosts in the 14th minute. However, the world’s second rank team kept their nerves while facing Dutch pressure and came back stronger after half time.
They equalised through penalty corner specialist Gonzalo Peillat four minutes after the re-strart and clinched full points when Matia Paredes scored from close range with just 45 minutes left on the clock.
The day’s final game was far more entertaining with the momentum oscillating at regular interval.
Belgium drew first blood as Cedric Charlier pounced on a defensive error to give his team the lead but the Australians hit back with two strikes in two minutes through Trent Mitton and Lachlan Sharp to grab the advantage.
But the Red Lions were not willing to give up and Arthur de Sloover and Tom Boon once again put them ahead with quality field goals before Jeremy Hayward converted a penalty corner 10 minutes from the final hooter to complete the scoreline.
“I thought it was a really good game, a high level game and it could have gone either way”, said Belgium captain Briels, who made his 300th international appearance. “I think we were the better team in the third quarter and could maybe have scored more goals, but I think both teams were quite lucky to get away with a draw.”