Dutch dash Ireland hopes

Holland’s ‘Mr Backhand’ lived up to his name to break Irish hearts as the world number three side snatched a late 2-1 TriFinance EuroHockey Nations Championships win over the green machine in Boom, Belgium yesterday.

Having seen Shane O’Donoghue’s drag-flick cancelled out by a similar effort from Mink van der Weerden, Ireland were on the verge of a shock result against a Dutch side who have won 46 of their 54 group games at the Euros.

But Robbert Kemperman — whose nickname derives from his fearsome ability to hit hard on his reverse — spun Eugene Magee and arrowed a crisp shot to the backboard to snatch victory six minutes from time.