Do you remember the Olympic hockey final in Rio de Janeiro?
That the Red Lions lost against Argentina then remains a minor trauma for our national hockey men.
Today, the Lions once again faced their rivals of yesteryear, Argentina, in the Hockey Pro League. Since the loss in Rio, Belgium has always been the boss of the Argentines. But one walk in the park it never was.
Not tonight either. After barely 7 minutes, Alexander Hendrickx and co were shaken awake after an unfortunate goal against. But the Lions didn’t have flashbacks to Rio right away. On the contrary: the goal against us heralded the dominance of our Belgians.
That quickly resulted in a stunning equalizer. For a moment, the Lions brought a page from the hockey handbook to life. After a good combination of Arthur De Sloover and Cédric Charlier, the ball was delicately brought in front of the goal. There – at the far post – Sébastien Dockier was ready to tap the ball in. Hockey lesson.
But the great goal did not get a great follow-up in the second half of the match. Deep in their own final offensive, the Lions were even surprised when the Argentinians cashed in a penalty shot. Maico Casella rammed it – with two minutes left on the clock – into the intersection.
End match. Better tomorrow: at 11 p.m., the Red Lions will already have a second chance.
