Netherland Wins 3-0 Against Argentina

2nd Day Last match

The Netherlands showed their prowess with penalty corners as Taeke Taekema converted three out of three to give his side a comfortable 3-0 win against Argentina in a World Cup group A match on Monday night.

Both Holland and Argentina played an open and flowing game and created a lot of chances, but it was the three-time World Cup winners, who made full use of their chances. They took the lead in the 14th minute and doubled it at the stroke of half-time. Taekema completed his hattrick with another clinical finish on the hour.

Argentina responded with fast counter attacks and quick breaks, but could not get past veteran Dutch keeper Guus Vogels, who stood like a wall. Their pressure almost paid of when Argentina won their first penalty corner in the 21st minute, but Facundo Callizoni shot wide

The Netherlands attacked from both the flanks in search of the second goal and got their second penalty corner in the 35th minute. Taekema took his World Cup tally to 15 goals.

The second half started brilliantly for the Argentines. They earned three penalty corners in as many minutes. Their best chance came in the 44th minute, when they earned their fifth penalty corner, but Vogels dived to his left to deny the South Americans.

Netherlands kept pushing forward in search of a third goal and their effort paid-off when they earned their third penalty corner. Taekama shot in the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick. This was the 50th hat-trick in World Cups. It was orange all the way!

Defending Champions - Only End With Draw

German captain Muller was happy with his team’s performance against Korea in their hockey World Cup opener in New Delhi. The defending champions came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw after the Asians had led 2-0 at half-time.

After being 2-0 down at half-time, a draw is a welcome result for us. We even had lots of chances to win the match towards the end. But we were not lucky enough. We’ll get better as the tournament grows older,” said the defender.

The 22-year-old was not happy with his team’s return from penalty corners. “We had 5 penalty corners in the first half and did not even score from one. It is difficult to score penalty corners on this pitch. The bounce is uneven so we’ll have to get used to it,” said Muller, who added that the pitch was not an excuse as all the teams had to play on this pitch.

The German skipper did not find the Koreans faster than usual. “No, I do not believe they were faster. They always play at this pace. But I found their attacking more effective than usual,” said Muller.

His coach Jochen Heimpel, however, was not too pleased with the result but nonetheless praised the team’s efforts. “I am not too happy with the result. But credit to the team, they worked hard to come back into the game. It is really hard to score against a team that defend very deep and are fast on the counterattack.”

Only three members of the 2006 World Cup winning team are part of this squad but Heimpel does not think the inexperience will be a factor. “The two Korean goals were not because of our inexperience. The first was a brilliant finish while the second was a goalkeeper error from an experienced keeper. It has nothing to do with inexperience. Yes, I agree the side is not very experienced but I saw a young, inexperienced side today that did not panic and that is a positive,” he concluded.

The Koreans admitted that after playing their heart out before the break, they did not have it in them to keep up the tempo. Captain Jong Ho Seo and coach Seok Kyo Shinboth both agreed that they tired themselves out in the first half allowing the Germans to get the better of them in the second.

FIH Suspends Pak player- Use Gauntlet Type Glove & Knee Pad

Irfan Muhammad became the second player in the World Cup to be suspended. The Pakistani was pulled up for wearing unauthorised protective gear during Sunday’s group B match against India at the National Stadium.

The Pakistanis are not challenging Irfan’s ban. According to the FIH, the Pakistanis have been serial offenders, having flouted similar rules on protective gear during the Champions Challenge in Salta, Argentina, last year.

.” He used a long gauntlet type glove and a knee pad. These are not allowed in the equipment bag that a team carries. According to the FIH, every piece of gear has to be approved by the technical desk.

The Pakistan team manager Asif Bajwa admitted his team was at fault. Irfan said he was unaware. Communication gap has always been a problem with Pakistan sport. The Green Shirts, however, got full marks for their on-field behaviour.

New Zealand Beat Canada 3-2

New Zealand’s beat Canada 3-2 in a World Cup hockey match at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Monday.

Mark Pearson and Philip Wright put the Canadians in front but Priyesh Bhana and Nicholas Haig restored parity twice before Ryan Archibald found a winner for the Kiwis three minutes from time in this opening game in Group A.

Canada were ahead within a minute. Pearson took advantage of some confusion in the New Zealand circle as he slotted past keeper Kyle Pontifex to give his side a 1-0 advantage in under 40 seconds.

The goal woke up the Kiwis who were coming in to the tie after losing their four previous World Cup matches. They used the flanks well and went for long passes. Canada, on the other hand, seemed happy with the one-goal cushion as they defended deep in their half and allowed the New Zealand to keep possession.

New Zealand’s relentless attacking paid off in the 11th minute when skipper Phil Burrows intercepted a stray pass in the midfield. He broke into the Canadian circle before feeding Priyesh Bhana. The striker’s first shot was saved by the keeper Dave Carter but Bhana pounced on the rebound to put his side level. Bhana was a last-minute inclusion to the side after 21-year-old Simon Child pulled out due to security concerns.

Canada restored their lead within 10 minutes. A long, diagonal ball from Sukhwinder Gabbar Singh found Wright right outside the goalmouth in the 21st minute. Wright beat Pontifex on his second attempt to ensure Canada went into the break 2-1 up.

The second half was all New Zealand. They drew level from the first penalty corner of the match. They combined well making it easy for Nicholas Haig to drag the ball into the net in the 47th minute, making it 2-2.

They won another penalty corner in the 59th minute. But this time the Kiwis were denied as Carter made a fine save to parry the ball away, football style. Canada then had a brief spell of possession when they won two quick penalty corners. But they failed to make either of those count.

Then in the 67th minute, Archibald got the winner for New Zealand. A quick exchange of passes saw the 29-year-old with space in the Canadian circle and he lifted the ball past Carter to subject the opposition to their third straight defeat in World Cup encounters.

Indian striker Shivendra suspended

Striker Shivendra Singh has been suspended for 'physical assault' on a Pakistani player during the match on Sunday.

The Indian team management today appealed to the World Cup Tournament Director against the suspension.

"Shivendra was found deliberately hitting a Pakistani player in the eye in last night's match which earned him a three-match suspension," International Hockey Federation (FIH) spokesman Arjen Meijer told PTI.

"India, however, is free to appeal against the ban and if they do so, an appeal jury would be set up to look into their appeal," Meijer explained.

A Hockey India official said an appeal has already been lodged against the suspension.

"We already have made an appeal to Tournament Director Kean Read against the appeal. We have deposited the Euro 600 as appeal fee," the official added.

Shivendra is a crucial cog in the forwardline and he opened India's account against Pakistan yesterday by scoring from a rebound.

India play Australia in the next Pool B match tomorrow, followed by ties against Spain (Thursday) and England (Saturday).