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Day 4 of the Hockey World Cup saw underdogs Argentina beating tournament favourites Germany 1-0 to open up Group B, while New Zealand continued their fine form to thrash South Africa 5-0. Following is the review of games played on Day 4.
New Zealand Vs South Africa
Continuing their unbeaten run in the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014, Black Sticks today defeated South Africa with a margin of 5-0 to stake their claim for a semi-final berth.
New Zealand started the game on an aggressive note, taking only 4 minutes to score their first goal,when Simon Child collected a high pass from Phil Burrows and hit the ball right straight home giving South African keeper Peterson no chance to make a save.
South Africa took just two minutes to reply, winning a penalty corner but Justin Reid-Ross missed it, with his flick hitting the bar.
As the game progressed, New Zealand continued to attack and their approach got them another goal with Andy Hayward scoring his first goal of the game, with just 15 minutes on the clock. Hayward doubled his goal tally two minutes later, with his second penalty corner strike, which was similar to his first one.
Being 0-3 down in first seventeen minutes of the game did not dampen South African spirits, as they nearly pulled a goal back through Drummond’s deflection.
They continued to attack for the rest of the half, but Black Sticks keeper Manchester made some great saves as New Zealand ended the game 3-0.
Second half of the game saw New Zealand scoring two more goals with striker Shea McAleese scoring in his 200th game.
Andy Hayward then added another goal with 16 minutes left to end South Africa’s hopes.
The win takes New Zealand within reach of the semi-final spot in the World Cup, as they top Group B due to goal difference.
Argentina vs Germany
The second game of the day saw a huge upset as Argentina, ranked 11th in the world beat Olympic Champions Germany with a score line of 1-0.
Germany started the game in the usual fashion spreading out the play, but failed to create any offensive strikes on Argentina’s goal.
Matias Rey was once again the star in Argentina’s defence, as he stopped every German attack to keep Argentina in the game.
Against the run of play, Manuel Brunet took Agustin Mazzili’s pass on the goal line to squeeze the ball past goalkeeper Jacobi’s leg and the German goal post in the 31st minute of the game.
Stunned by the goal, Germany went on the offensive, but Los Leonas defence kept them at bay to end the first game with a 1-0 advantage.
Second half of the game saw flared tempers, and frustrations getting into the heads of German players as they made mistakes.
As a result, Germany’s Benedikt Furk received a yellow card for challenge against Matias Paredes. The best chance in the second half came to Germany when Benjamin Wess came close to equalising in the 40th minute, but Argentina’s Vivaldi stood firm in Los Leones' goal.
After that, it was Argentina all over as they beat Germany in their own game to keep the score line at 1-0 and win the game.
The win kick starts Argentina’s campaign the World Cup and throws open Group B with Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and Argentina within a sniffing chance to qualify for the semi-finals.
Netherlands vs Korea
Final game of the day saw Netherlands having to earn a hard fought win against World Number 7 Korea to secure top place in Group B.
Goals by Hertzberger and Kemperman gave Netherlands much needed relief, as Korea made Netherlands toil for the winner.
It was Korea who drew first blood in the game, with Hyunwoo Nam scoring from a penalty corner in the 5th minute of the game, which sent shock waves across the 15000 capacity crowd in the stadium.
The goal shook the Netherlands and they started their offense towards the Korean goal. The Koreans finally succumbed under Dutch pressure as they gave away a penalty stroke in the 20th minute of play.
Bakker missed a great chance to score in the 18th minute of play, after his beautiful stick work nearly beat Korean keeper, Lee Myung Ho.
Jeroen Hertzberger then converted that penalty stroke in the 21st minute, to restore parity in the game. The goal gave Netherlands renewed energy as they continued to assault Korean defence.
After scoring their first goal of the game, Netherlands got the game firmly in their grip as they controlled the tempo by having more possession.
The Korean defence refused to budge as first half score read 1-1.
The story of second half was similar to the first half as the Netherlands backed by the crowd,went on the offensive with the Koreans defending.
As the game progressed, the play opened up and it was the Koreans who took advantage and created a couple of chances to rattle Dutch players.
Netherlands ended up giving penalty corner and Robbert Kemperman earned a yellow card for shirt pulling.
The penalty corner was not converted by Korea. The dutch continued their aggressive game.
All the attacking play paid off as Robbert Kemperman hit a field goal in the 69th minute of play, which won the game for Netherlands. It also earned him the man of the match award.
This win puts Netherlands to the second spot in Group B. New Zealand top the group after thrashing South Africa 5-0.
