Albertarrio strike & RSA 4-3 GER (M) named second best of 2021

Following Wednesday’s announcement of the fans’ third favourite goal and match of 2021, where Dayaan Cassiem’s sensational individual goal against Belgium and India’s Olympic bronze medal-winning performance against Germany men were revealed, today we can confirm the goal and match selected by the fans as their second favourite of 2021.

The fans’ choice for second best goal of 2021 goes to Argentina Agustina Albertarrio, a strike which came as Las Leonas battled Germany in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

While Albertarrio’s close range finish was expertly taken, it was the creation of goal that really marked this effort as being out of the ordinary. The eventual Olympic silver medallists shifted the play from the right defence position to explode down the left side of the field, with a superb pass across the face of the Germany goal allowing Albertarrio to touch home, breaking the deadlock in the 27^th minute of the contest.

Argentina ended up taking a 3-0 victory, with Victoria Granatto and teenage sensation Valentina Raposo both netting penalty corners to send the Pan American giants into the Olympic semi-finals.

The second best match of 2021, according to the fans, is South Africa men’s remarkable 4-3 victory over Germany in the Tokyo 2020 pool phase.

With an inferior ranking and up against a team many rated as potential winners, South Africa came into the match considered very much as underdogs but produced an incredible display to down the Rio 2016 bronze medallists, just days after the Europeans had handed out a 5-1 thrashing of Great Britain in their previous fixture.

Germany opened the scoring through Timm Herzbruch, but strikes from Matthew Guise-Brown and Keenan Horne put South Africa into a 2-1 lead. Die Honamas hit back with two goals of their own, as Lukas Windfeder and Constantin Staib established a 3-2 advantage ahead of half time.

However, field goals from Nicholas Spooner and rising star Mustaphaa Cassiem turned the match on its head, with South Africa producing a sensational defensive display in the latter stages to claim a extraordinary triumph over the eventual semi-finalists.

The fans’ favourite goal and match of 2021 will be revealed on Friday 14^th. To see the complete shortlists for the goal and match of 2021 categories, please click here.

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