Den Bosch Stay Perfect as Matla Sinks SCHC and the Hoofdklasse Race Takes Shape

Seven games, seven wins, 30 goals scored and one conceded. Den Bosch aren’t just top of the women’s Hoofdklasse. They’re making the rest of the league look ordinary.

The latest one came on Sunday in Bilthoven, and it was the fixture everyone had circled. SCHC were second, unbeaten at home, and they’d only lost once all season. Den Bosch went there and won 2-0 anyway. Frédérique Matla scored just before half-time, Maartje Krekelaar added the second after the break, and that was that. The defeat ended SCHC’s 42-match unbeaten run. This Den Bosch side doesn’t do close games.

Matla is the story of the season so far. Sixteen goals in seven games, ten from open play and six from penalty corners. Nobody else is close. Yibbi Jansen at SCHC has 12, Kampong’s Iris de Kemp has 10, and then there’s daylight. When your top scorer is averaging more than two a game and your defence has leaked once all season, the table tends to look after itself.

And yet the title race isn’t quite a procession. Amsterdam, the defending champions, sit third on 16 points after winning their 22nd title in May, beating this same Den Bosch side 4-3 in a shootout after the final finished 4-4 on aggregate. They know how to beat Den Bosch when it counts. Rotterdam are fourth on 14, Hurley fifth on 12, and Kampong sixth on 11 despite scoring 25 goals, the second-best attack in the league.

At the bottom, Victoria are having a miserable first season back up. Seven defeats from seven, five goals scored, 35 conceded. They’ve already shipped nine to Den Bosch and eight to Kampong. HGC have three points, Bloemendaal four, and the relegation scrap is forming up early.

Round 8 is on Sunday. Den Bosch’s lead is three points over SCHC and five over Amsterdam, but the champions are the ones with the know-how. If anyone’s going to stop this Den Bosch run, it’ll have to be Amsterdam. On current form, though, you’d be brave to bet against Matla and company.