LONDON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Netherlands crushed Ireland 6-0 to win the Women's Hockey World Cup for a record eighth time here on Sunday.
Lidewij Welten opened the account for the Netherlands in the seventh minute after a team move. After the quarter break they were 2-0 ahead.
Frederique Matla took the ball down the Dutch right-hand side of the pitch, before slipping to Xan de Waard. Her shot was weak and dealt with easily by Ayeisha McFerran but the rebound fell to Kelly Jonker who made no mistake.
A few minutes later the tournament's top scorer Kitty van Male pounced on a rebounded effort from van Maasakker and shot home for her eighth goal of the tournament.
Malou Pheninckx unleashed a shot from the edge of the circle that flew into the top corner of the Ireland goal to give Netherlands a 4-0 halftime lead.
Just two minutes into the second half, Marloes Keetels was on hand to knock the ball into the goal after another defence splitting run by Welten.
Caia van Maasakker finally found her groove as she scored from the penalty corner - her third of the tournament. The shot was perfectly placed just out of McFerran's reach.
The final score of 6-0 is an all-time record for World Cup finals, and it is a signal to the hockey world that the Netherlands have set the bar very high indeed.
