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As expected, Day 3 of the Hockey World Cup had plenty of action and goals with top teams Australia and Belgium winning to secure their position on top of Pool A. Here is the review of games played on Day 3 of the tournament:
Australia vs Spain
Riding on the success of their win against Malaysia, defending champions Australia continued their winning run to beat Spain 3-0 in the first game played today. Australia took little time to score as Tim Deavin took a pass from Rob Hammond to score the first goal of the game with just 2 minutes on the clock to make their intentions clear.
Shocked by the early goal, Spain never managed to regain their composure as Australia continued their onslaught with their superior pace and skills. Captain Mark Knowles then doubled the lead in 10th minute of the game, after an Australian penalty corner saved by Spanish keeper Bosco Perez reached Knowles.
As if this was not enough, Kieran Govers shot home a penalty corner to give Australia an unassailable lead.
Spain came back strongly in the second half of the game but it was not enough to make Australians nervous. Spain in total had just two shots on target which clearly reflected the Australian dominance in the match.
Australia is unbeaten in the tournament and has not conceded a single goal so far. With this type of authoritative play, it looks like they are heading towards a successful defence of their title.
India vs England
Sticking to the tradition of conceding last minute goals, India once again succumbed to defeat against England in Rabobank Hockey World Cup thanks to a goal by Simon Mantell in the final minute of the play. With this defeat, India’s World Cup campaign has come to an end with no hope of making it to semi-finals of the tournament.
India dominated early proceedings of the game but they could not put the ball inside the English goal. England made India pay for not taking early advantage when Mark Gleghorne converted the penalty corner given away by Yuvraj Walmiki for making a bad tackle.
Conceding a goal against the run of play did not affect Indian team as they just took four minutes to score and bring the game back to level terms. Dharamvir Singh latched on to a pass of Sardara Singh to score with a cracking hit from top of the striking circle.
The second half of the game saw England coming on the field with better intent and winning a penalty corner just four minutes into the start of play. Sreejesh, in the form of his life, helped India keep England at bay and the score line remained at 1-1.
The Indian attack on the other hand created many chances to score with Yuvraj Walimiki and Mandeep Singh both failing to convert chances.
The Indian coach rued the fact that despite playing well the team couldn’t register their first points yet, “We’ve managed to play some good hockey and yet the reality is that we’re without a point from two matches,” he said. On the other hand, the coach of the England team praised India for giving his team a tough game.
With this defeat India’s campaign in the World Cup has come to an end after as there is no way for India to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament, and they play Spain next on Thursday.
Belgium vs Malaysia
The Belgium vs Malaysia game has brought out a new star in the world of hockey. Tom Boon, who is one of the most promising young players around, made his name in the World Cup by scoring four goals to give Belgium a 6-2 win over Malaysia.
It was Malaysia who drew first blood in the game after Razie scored a superb goal from the penalty corner. But Belgium, with the brilliance of Tom Boon, needed just nine minutes to restore parity among the teams.
Malaysia once again took the lead through Razie’s penalty corner after 19 minutes to cause a scare among Belgium fans and the team management.
After Razie’s second goal, it was all Tom Boon’s show as he hit two goals to give Belgium a 3-2 lead at half-time.
The second half of the game saw Belgium’s onslaught continue as they scored three more goals to end the game 6-2 in their favour.
The day clearly belonged to the 24-year-old Tom Boon as he kept troubling the Malaysian defence before he was brought to the bench for some well-deserved rest. The win against Malaysia has helped Belgium reach the second position on the table.
Group A is taking shape nicely after two rounds of games, with Australia and Belgium coming our as clear favourites. All eyes will now be on England to see how they perform in upcoming games and whether they can challenge Belgium for the second semi-final spot.
