Netherlands coach Alyson Annan-Thate says her side “showed a little bit more potential” as they beat Germany 2-0 in their final game in Pool A to top the table with four wins and one draw in the women’s competition.
The win, courtesy of goals from Xan de Waard and Kitty van Male, came hot on the heels of a 1-1 draw with New Zealand when the Blacksticks caught the Dutch with a late equaliser.
Speaking about the win, Annan-Thate said: “Today was better. We showed a little bit more potential. We were driven, we were effective, we were in control.
“In the scoring phase we could have scored a few more, I think, but I’m pretty happy with the game.”
She added that it was important for her side to put in good performances rather than pushing for the top spot in the group.
“It’s not so much about winning or losing in this phase, I think it’s more about what you are putting out on the field. I think yesterday [against New Zealand] we under-performed.
“I think we didn’t work as hard as we should have. I don’t think we played as a team and I think that’s more essential than the points. New Zealand could have won the game so we had a big lesson yesterday.”
Her team had a meaningful post-match huddle and Annan-Thate told her team they need to move up a further level.
“I was saying that it wasn’t good enough and I think we need to realise that we’ve lost a bit of focus. When you start a tournament, you’re very focused because it’s the first game and you’re excited and there’s a lot of nerves about it.
“We just lost the focus and I think we got together yesterday and we talked about that and the focus is back, hopefully.”
** For full details on the draw, click here