IT wasn’t the fairy tale ending that David Harte had hoped for, but his status as a SV Kampong legend is assured.
The plan was for Harte to bow out on a high, as his 13 years with Kampong came to an end, but Amsterdam H&BC didn’t read the script, winning the Tulp Hoofdklasse title after a penalty shoot-out.
For Harte, it hurt. He wanted to leave the club he called home as a national champion again, but the legendary Irish hockey goalkeeper (37) knows better than most about the ups and downs of sport.
‘I'm pulling out all the clichés. It hurts a lot at the moment. It didn't turn into a fairy tale. That's sour. We were so close. Due to a sloppy mistake at the start of the second half, we unfortunately handed the match over to Amsterdam,’ Harte said, as he waved goodbye to the Kampong fans having decided earlier this year to draw the curtains on his 15-year hockey adventure in The Netherlands.
Knowing this was his last chance to lift silverware added to his anguish, with Harte admitting the finality of it all made ‘the loss extra painful'.
Still, the two-time Olympian twice voted the best men’s hockey goalkeeper in the world has enjoyed an incredible career with the Utrecht club – he is a three-time national champion (2017, 2018 and 2024) and a Euro Hockey League winner (2016). Now it’s time for the next adventure.
