It is Day 7 of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014 and we are back to the women's Pool A matches. This morning Korea earned two goals from Mihyun Park to down Belgium 4-2. Also happening today are Japan playing New Zealand (17:30 CET), while the Netherlands will play Oceania champs Australia (19:45 CET).
WOMEN Pool A: Korea v Belgium 4-2 (1-1)
A game in which Korea's top scorer Park Mihyun rediscovered her form was nearly overshadowed by a controversial start to the second half as the Belgium team were not on the pitch when the whistle blew. A race between the Korea forwards and the Belgium team saw all the field players race to the circle, followed a few seconds later by goalkeeper Aisling D'Hooghe. Fortunately for the Belgium side, Korea did not capitalise on that occasion. Less fortunate for Belgium was the fact that Korea's inspirational forward Park Mihyun opened her World Cup scoring account with two goals, and two more goals from the excellent Cheon Eunbi saw Korea win 4-2 to take all three points.
WOMEN Pool A: Japan v New Zealand 1-4 (0-1)
New Zealand kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup courtesy of a 4-1 triumph over Asian Champions Japan in the GreenFields Stadium. Anita Punt netted twice in the contest as the Black Sticks claimed their second win of the tournament and moved onto six points in Pool A, three points behind frontrunners the Netherlands and Australia, who play each other in this evening's showpiece match in the Kyocera Stadium. A win for either the host nation or the Hockeyroos would keep New Zealand very much in the running, while a draw would end New Zealand hopes of reaching the semis.
WOMEN Pool A: Australia v Netherlands 0-2 (0-0)
On a day when the big guns needed to perform, the Dutch superstars were found wanting for the first 55 minutes of the game. Uncharacteristic errors across the pitch and two Maartje Paumen misses at penalty corners kept the capacity crowd on the edge of their seats. It took an absolute gem of a shot from Kelly Jonker, which was just tipped in by Kim Lammers, and a fine sole effort from Naomi van As to secure a 2-0 win over a hugely competitive Australia team.
Pool-play action continues tomorrow, 8 June, with USA playing Germany (14:30 CET), England facing Argentina (16:00 CET), and China playing South Africa (17:30 CET). For schedules, scores, highlights and more visit www.rabobankhockeyworldcup2014.com
