Holland humble Spain by 4-2 in Champions Trophy 

LAHORE: The Netherlands, seeking a hat-trick of men's Champions Trophy field hockey titles, stormed into the final with a 4-2 win over strong challengers Spain here on Wednesday.

It was the fourth consecutive win for the Netherlands in the current tournament and lifted them to the top of the round-robin league with 12 full points, three more than Spain.

Karel Klaver put the Dutch ahead in the 15th minute with a stinging shot from the top of the circle and Geert Jan Derikx increased the margin three minutes later with a penalty stroke.

Spain, who had won all their three previous matches, narrowed the margin just before the interval when Santiago Freixa sliced through the Dutch defence and pushed home.

Klaver made it 3-1 after the break with a superb reverse flick, but Pau Quemada kept Spain afloat by converting a penalty corner in the 57th minute.

Spain pressed for a 3-3 deadlock in the last quarter but saw the Dutch save two penalty corners before Klaver put the match beyond Spain's reach with his third goal in the penultimate minute of the match.