Defeat for Rotterdam; SCHC secure a point against OR

SCHC – Oranje-Rood 2–2

There was great joy in Bilthoven at SCHC. The newly promoted side picked up a point against Oranje-Rood, who had a 2-0 lead at half-time thanks to a goal from Jaïr van der Horst and a converted penalty stroke by Henrik Mertgens. After the break, SCHC fought their way back to level with Oranje-Rood in the third quarter thanks to two goals in quick succession. Both came from penalty corners. Danilo Trieling scored the goal to pull one back, after which Olaf van Staa netted the equaliser.

It was a false start for Oranje-Rood, but the Eindhoven side remained unbeaten in their thirteenth consecutive away match. This is Oranje-Rood’s longest unbeaten run away from home in the Hoofdklasse’s history.

Den Bosch – Kampong 0–0

The spectators at the Oosterplas had settled in for a good show. The last five meetings between the two sides had produced 28 goals, an average of 5.6 per match. Unfortunately, the crowd were left disappointed, as no goals were scored.

This brought to an end a run of 44 home matches in the Hoofdklasse in which Den Bosch had scored at least one goal. The last time the Den Bosch side failed to score at home was on 8 May 2022 against Amsterdam (0–0).

Amsterdam – Tilburg 5–0

Newly promoted Tilburg started the match at the Wagener Stadium with Sam van der Ven in goal. He replaced first-choice goalkeeper Jan van Groesen, who had been injured during the ABN AMRO Hockey Weekend. After two quarters, the score was still 0–0 and Tilburg might have been starting to fancy an upset.

However, two defensive lapses were swiftly punished by Amsterdam shortly after the break. First by Dayaan Cassiem and then by Floris Middendorp. Duco Telgenkamp scored twice for his new club. Boris Burkhardt was also prolific. Over the past six seasons, he has scored a total of nine goals in the first round of the season.

Bloemendaal – Rotterdam 3–1

Jeroen Hertzberger’s debut as Rotterdam’s coach began with a defeat. The reigning national champions got off to a fine start at ’t Kopje. After just nine minutes, new signing Thijs van Pelt tapped in to make it 0-1.

After that, Bloemendaal took control of the match. Zach Wallace equalised from a penalty stroke, after which Floris Wortelboer put Bloemendaal ahead. Spanish newcomer Pere Amat sealed the final score.

For the third season in a row, Rotterdam failed to win their opening match of the season. Bloemendaal, by contrast, have now gone 26 matches without defeat on the first round. This is the longest unbeaten run in opening matches in the history of the men’s top flight.

Klein Zwitserland – Pinoké 3–3

In The Hague, Klein Zwitserland and Pinoké put on a spectacular show with six goals, evenly split between the two teams. With two minutes remaining, Willem van Campen scored the equaliser for the home side, for whom new signings Karst Timmer and Sam Lane were also prolific. For the visitors, Joep Troost scored twice, whilst new signing Hugo Labouchere was also prolific.

With the draw, Pinoké remained unbeaten in their last ten top-flight matches against Klein Zwitserland. This is a record for the longest unbeaten run in this head-to-head fixture.

HDM – Schaerweijde 4–3

With an excellent first half, HDM laid the foundations for their 4-3 victory over Schaerweijde. Fabian Verzuu played a starring role for HDM, scoring three goals. Yorben Fontaine had opened the scoring after ten minutes, after which HDM extended their lead to 3-0 before half-time.

Schaerweijde, who were without their Japanese signing Kosei Kawabe, did manage to fight back to 4-3, but HDM held on. The Hague-based side thus brought an end to a run of nine home defeats in the Hoofdklasse. It was, therefore, their first victory since 28 September 2025, when they beat Laren 3-2.