Belgium continues its winning form in its second match, Beats Egypt 5-0

New Delhi, 7 December 2013: After their good performance against Pakistan the day before (narrow loss 2-3), Egypt started their match against European Champions Belgium with confidence. They defended well the first Belgian penalty-corner and were not shy to take their chances on swift counter-attacks, showing excellent individual skills.

Belgium were however never in danger and seem to calmly wait for their time to strike. They pushed up the pace in the final ten minutes of the period, often overwhelming their opponents, but the Egyptian defense held tight and the break was reached with no score.

Belgium did not wait long in second period to put the first dent on the score sheet, Alexander Hendrickx finally beating goal-keeper Wael Noureldin on penalty-corner in the 38th minute. Mathew Cobbaert added a superb goal ten minutes later, running through the whole circle and around the keeper before shooting the ball high in goal from an impossibly narrow angle.

With the floodgates now open, Alexander Hendrickx added a penalty-corner in the 51th minute and Mathew Cobbaert also scored his second goal of the match soon after.

Despite the large deficit, Egypt never stopped trying and still managed to create some chances. The Belgium were however on a roll and Hendrickx completed his hat-trick in the 66th minute with a penalty-stroke clinically taken, for a final score of 5-0 for the Red Lions that booked them a quarter-final berth in the second stage of the competition.

Speaking on the second consecutive the win Belgium Coach Goldberg Philippe said “while we have won both the matches we still target to win the next one because if Germany manages to win their match again Pakistan and if we lose against Pakistan then our chances to go to the next round becomes difficult. Today the boys played as a unit and they have followed the team strategy in their last two games. The mandate given to the boys is clear – play as a unit rather than showcasing individual skills on the field”.