On the second day or play at the BDO Hockey World Cup Qualifier in Argentina, Ireland wrestled down Chile, Belgium dispatched the Czech Republic, and Argentina booked a win against the USA. All day one winners thus booked their second consecutive victory, thereby neatly splitting the table in two.
Chile - Ireland 1:4 (1:0)
The day started off with the encounter between Chile and Ireland. As yesterday, Chile went into the game overflowing with their can-do attitude, and they were rewarded midway through the first half with a goal from Thomas Kannegiesser. Subsequently, an open battle with few chances on either side ensued.
Holding on to their lead unil the end of the first half, Chile received the first blow to their plans for points when Alan Sothern scored a field goal shortly after the return from the break. Building on his euqalizer, the Red Devils pulled ahead with ten minutes to go at the hands of John Jermyn, while Alan Sothern added two goals in the last three minutes of the match to complete his second half hattrick and establish the 4:1 end result - a disappointing scoreline for Chile who as on day one have put down a solid effort and pulled ahead with an early goal only to see the tables turned on them for a 1:4 defeat.
Belgium - Czech Republic 9:0 (3:0)
In today's second match, the Czech Republic were still tired from their day one battle with Argentina, in which they fought the much higher ranked home team all the way to a narrow 1:0 defeat. Their excellent performance yesterday came at the price of today's exhaustion, which saw them no match to a powerful and energetic Belgian team.
Opening the scoring in the 7th minute, Belgium piled on goals at a steady pace throughout the match, with Jerome Truyens scoring two, Jerome Dekeyser, Max Luycx, Jeffrey Thys and Loic Vandeweghe putting one each to their name, and 19-year-old Tom Boon laying down a second half hattrick with one penalty corner goal and two goals from open play in the last two minutes of the game.
With this win from another impressive showing, Belgium highlight their claim for a space in the final and the last ticket to Delhi available.
USA - Argentina 1:6 (0:4)
Wrapping up the proceedings in front of a good turnout crowd, the Argentine home team took on the USA. Highly motivated after yesterday's meager 1:0 win over the Czech Republic, Argentina was in control the whole seventy minutes, and better able to make their advantage count.
A penalty corner conversion by Lucas Vila set the tone in the 9th minute, with Lucas Rey piling on a field goal, and Pedro Ibarra adding another penalty corner goal to take the home team to a three goal advantage after only 16 minutes. A beautiful Lucas Rossi goal from open play just before the break completed the 4:0 halftime score, with the USA having been unable to mount much of a game, and Argentina managing pace and ball possession practically at will.
After the break, the US boys gained a better foothold and were able to use the somewhat fading focus of their opponents for Pat Harris to score their first and only goal of the day, but jolted awake by having to pick the ball out of their net, the Argentineans reclaimed control and quickly added a Manuel Brunet goal to the tally to re-establish the four goal advantage.
With 68 minutes on the clock, veteran Mario Almada laid down his contribution to the 6:1 final result, which comes as a big relief to the team after yesterday's hardfought and disappointing 1:0 win over the Czech Republic, putting the hosts' Delhi 2010 campaign back on track.
At the end of day two, Belgium thus hold the table lead, with an impressive 13:1 goal difference, but Ireland and Argentina follow behind, both also on 6 points. The bottom half of the table, with teams who have yet to earn their first points in the competition, includes the USA, Chile and the Czech Republic - the latter the only team in the tournament not to have scored a goal yet.
After a rest day on Monday, play resumes Tuesday with the USA taking on the Czech Republic, Belgium and Ireland doing battle for a good position to make a break for the final, and Argentina facing their neighbors from Chile who will be extra motivated after having an advantage turned around on them two times in a row.
For all information on the tournament, please visit our event site at www.quilmes2009.sportcentric.com.
Chile - Ireland 1:4 (1:0)
16min CHI Thomas KANNEGIESSER (FG)
37min IRL Alan SOTHERN (FG)
61min IRL John JERMYN (FG)
67min IRL Alan SOTHERN (PC)
69min IRL Alan SOTHERN (PC)
Belgium - Czech Republic 9:0 (3:0)
7min BEL Jerome TRUYENS (FG)
12min BEL Jerome DEKEYSER (FG)
25min BEL Jerome TRUYENS (FG)
40min BEL Max LUYCX (FG)
49min BEL Tom BOON (PC)
62min BEL Jeffrey THYS (FG)
64min BEL Loic VANDEWEGHE (FG)
69min BEL Tom BOON (FG)
70min BEL Tom BOON (FG)
USA - Argentina 1:6 (0:4)
9min ARG Lucas VILA (PC)
13min ARG Lucas REY (FG)
16min ARG Pedro IBARRA (PC)
33min ARG Lucas ROSSI (FG)
48min USA Patrick HARRIS (FG)
53min ARG Manuel BRUNET (FG)
68min ARG Mario ALMADA (FG)
