Following the cancellation of all matches on Thursday due to heavy rain, six intense matches took place at the BDO FIH Hockey World Cup in Rosario on Friday, with host nation Argentina and The Netherlands impressing all onlookers with stunning victories. A summary of the action can be found below, with more details available on the tournament microsite.
Pool B
China kept alive their hopes of reaching the Semi Finals stages of the tournament with a deserved 4-1 victory against South Africa. GAO Lihua was the hero for her team, scoring two goals and assisting another. It was China's first points of the tournament, giving them confidence ahead of their two remaining Pool matches.
England midfielder Helen RICHARDSON hit an equaliser early in the second half to claim a 1-1 draw against a lively Korea team that had opened the scoring less than 15 seconds into the match. It proved to be a vital point for England, a side that remains unbeaten with a seven points out of a possible nine.
The third game of Pool B saw Argentina make it three wins from three games to move a step closer to a place in the Semi Finals by defeating Spain 4-0. It was another superb performance by Las Leonas, with penalty corner star Noel BARRIONUEVO delighting a huge crowd with two goals in the game. The match was also significant for umpire Marelize de KLERK, who received a bouquet of flowers from FIH Vice President Antonio von ONDARZA and Umpires Manager Jan HADFIELD (AUS) in recognition of taking charge of her 200th international game.
Pool A
Germany continued their hunt for a place in the Semi Finals with a comprehensive 4-1 defeat of India. The result means that they have now won all three of their matches so far at the BDO FIH Hockey World Cup. With The Netherlands and Australia meeting later today, Germany are certain to be at least in second place in the table regardless of that particular score-line.
Maartje PAUMEN scored a hat-trick to help The Netherlands to a 4-1 victory against the Hockeyroos of Australia. PAUMEN flicked unstoppable penalty corners in the 10th, 34th and 46th minutes to give her team a comfortable triumph against a team that had won their first two matches of the tournament. The win moved The Netherlands to the top of Pool A, ahead of Germany thanks to their vastly superior goal difference.
The final match of a long day here in Rosario saw Japan and New Zealand play out an entertaining 2-2 draw which included some outstanding play between two attack-minded teams. Sadly the result was not good for either team, leaving them both five points adrift of 3rd placed Australia in Pool A.
Following Friday's unusual six game day, normal service will be resumed tomorrow with action taking place from Pool B. England and South Africa clash at 14.30 (local time - GMT -3) before Korea and Spain go head to head at 17.00. Another bumper crowd is expected to watch the final match of the day, as Argentina do battle with China at 19.30.
More information about all of these matches and much more can be found on the FIH tournament microsite: http://www.bdofihworldcup2010.sportcentric.com/
