Defending champions Australia
stormed to the top of the standings in the men`s field hockey
Champions Trophy with a crushing 7-2 victory over title rivals.
|Last Updated: Nov 29, 2009, 07:47 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Melbourne: Defending champions Australia
stormed to the top of the standings in the men`s field hockey
Champions Trophy with a crushing 7-2 victory over title rivals
Netherlands today.
It was the highest margin for a win by Australia over the
Netherlands in their 31 encounters at Champions Trophy
tournaments.
The hosts stretched their unbeaten run over the Dutch to
six Trophy encounters with a dominating display to back up
their opening day 4-0 rout of South Korea.
In the day`s other matches, South Korea came from a goal
down early in the second half to beat Olympic champions
Germany 5-3 and Spain equalised in the last three minutes to
draw 3-3 with England.
The Dutch have now failed to win any of their last nine
matches against Australia at the Champions Trophy, World Cup
and Olympics.
Grant Schubert scored a first-half hat-trick as the
Australians went to half-time 5-1 up and in firm control.
The Netherlands scored first, a second-minute penalty
corner to Taeke Taekema, but the Kookaburras hit back with
Schubert`s triple and debut Trophy goals to Brett Dancer and
Glenn Turner, extinguishing any hopes of a Dutch win.
Schubert started the avalanche with a penalty stroke
conversion, Turner drove home a field goal and Dancer flicked
a penalty corner conversion on a variation before Schubert
pounced again with field goals inside two minutes just before
the break.
Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel admitted the match was
lost in the calamitous first half.
"In that period we were overpowered by Australia and the
effect of the jet-lag on us was clear," he said.
Australia did not apply the same pressure on the
Netherlands in the second half, disappointing their coach Ric
Charlesworth.
"The game drifted in the second half and it was a
disappointing half for us," Charlesworth said.
Luke Doerner, who plays in the Dutch hockey league,
confounded the Netherlands when he hit a penalty corner drive
for Australia`s sixth goal rather than using his customary
drag-flick.
Jamie Dwyer nailed a backstick drive from the left over
the head of goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann for Australia`s last
goal before Robert Kemperman scored on a breakaway for a Dutch
consolation goal in the last minutes.
The South Koreans` superior fitness and ability to
counter-attack with long passes into Germany`s backfield
yielded them four goals in the last 20 minutes.
James Tindall scored a double as England led Spain 3-2 at
halftime but Pol Amat and Eddie Tubau came on for the last 10
minutes and put together a classic goal, interchanging passes
through the midfield to slice through England`s defence.
Tubau dived on Amat`s pass to the left post to beat Nick
Brothers in England`s goal and salvage a thrilling draw.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.