Australia beat Argentina to reach Champions Trophy semis

Australian players celebrate a goal during their victory over Argentina

Bhubaneswar, Dec 11 (IANS)

World champions Australia secured a semi-final spot after beating World Cup bronze medallists Argentina 4-2 in the second quarter-final of the hockey Champions Trophy on Thursday.

Simon Orchard gave Australia a fift-minute lead when he got a stick to Russell Ford's hard right-wing cross, the ball just evading the clutches of Manuel Vivaldi.

Argentina equalised when Lucas Vila made a lovely run, ghosting around a few tackles before pulling the ball back. Facundo Callioni quickly flipped it to Matias Paredes to volley home a great goal, a minute into the second quarter.

The third quarter saw Manuel Brunet putting the Argentina ahead 2-1 after a great team move. However, Jeremy Hayward, adding his third goal in this tournament, levelled the score at 2-2 just two minutes later when his penalty corner drag-flick found its way into the net.

The 'Kookaburras' eventually secured their semi-final tickets thanks to Daniel Beale scoring from open play and Chris Ciriello firing home a penalty corner.

Argentina's 'Leones' fought hard to get back but their effort did not pay off.