FIH Hockey Pro League: Belgium thrashes England 5-0 in the second leg

Within the regulation time, Nicolas De Kerpel, in the 8th and 58th minutes, Arthur.

Arthur De Sloover in the 39th minute and Alexander Hendrickx in the 56th and 58th minute were the goalscorers for Belgium, while none of the English squad players could score.

Nicolas De Kerpel opened the scoring for Belgium early into the game after receiving a pass from John Domen, who got the ball after a rebound on a penalty flick by Oliver Payne. The first half ended with a 1-0 lead for the visitors.

England seemed to be struggling in the second half as Belgium launched back-to-back attacks. Arthur de Sloover doubled the lead for the Belgian side after a rebound on a shot by Alexander Hendrickx landed on his stick. England pulled their keeper to generate more opportunities to narrow the deficit. However, the tactic backfired as the Belgian squad took advantage of the empty goal, scoring three goals in two minutes to make it 5-0. Two of those three goals came from the stick of Alexander Hendrickx.

In a post-match interview, David Goodfield said, "I think we played better than yesterday, and since the beginning of the Pro League, we have always played the second match much better. That was the case today. We were a bit lucky. We scored three goals when they had no goalie, so I think the result was not describing the game. It was a close game until the last five minutes.

Belgian women's hockey team triumphs over England in the second leg

In the women's event, Belgium won against England 4-1 in the second leg of the FIH Pro League match at Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre in London on June 19.

The women's match between England and Belgium went similarly to the men's match, with the Belgian women taking revenge for yesterday's first-leg loss. Stephanie Vanden Borre opened the scoring for the visitors in the first quarter after receiving a pass from Judith Vandermeiren. Justine Rasir doubled the lead with just three minutes left in the second quarter with an excellent shot into the top of the net with the help of Alix Gerniers. The first half ended with a 2-0 lead for Belgium.

Belgium built on their momentum in the second half as a penalty flick by Stephanie Vanden Borre further increased the lead for Belgium. England regained its footing and launched a counterattack ten minutes into the third quarter. Tessa Howard deflected the ball into the Belgian goal after receiving a pass from Sophie Hamilton. Justine Rasir scored the final goal of the match in the fourth quarter to make it 4-1, securing the victory for Belgium.

In a post-match interview, Player of the Match Vanden Borre said, "We had a great start just like yesterday, and we had some moments we lacked a bit when we had two cards, but in the end, we won 4-1, so we are thrilled with the three points. I think yesterday, in the second half, we lacked energy. That was a focal point for us today, and that was the difference.