At the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in Delhi, Germany and The Netherlands played to a 2-2 tie that puts them at the top of Pool A, while Korea dominated Canada (9-2) and Argentina earned their first win of the competition over New Zealand (1-0).
Game 22 - Korea v. Canada: 9-2 (half-time: 2-0)
Canada and Korea have only met twice in World Cup history and, oddly, in the same year (1998) when they drew in the round-robin and Korea beat Canada for the 7-8 classification. Here in Delhi, Korea, semi-finalists in the last two World Cups, beat Argentina and tied with Germany, but lost to New Zealand, while Canada have still not collected a point after losing to New Zealand, Germany and The Netherlands.
Korea were quicker in action, but the Canadian defense, with a solid Matthew PECK in goal, was tight and did not leave then an inch in the circle. Canada were only dangerous on counter-attacks and Myung Ho LEE in the Korean goal was called for the first time in action in the 18th minute on a deflection from close range by Connor GRIMES.
Korea had a penalty-corner in the 23rd minute and Hyun Woo NAM's flick shaved the inside of the post for the first goal. They had another chance soon after but the Canadian defense read well the option and managed to clear. The Canadians could not outrun the speedy Koreans but were successful at progressing with crisp long passes; however they could not arrive close enough to the circle to be dangerous and it is Korea that increased their lead in the final seconds of the period on a penalty-corner that evolved in a penalty-stroke powerfully converted by Jong Hyun JANG.
Korea scored early in second period by Nam Yong LEE with a reverse-stick shot in a close angle; the ball was unfortunately deflected over the keeper by a Canadian defender, hit the far post then went in goal. They then added two quick goals by Sung Hoon YOON and Hyo Sik YOU, splitting through a Canadian defense suddenly looking dangerously porous.
Philip WRIGHT temporarily narrowed the gap in the 42nd minute but Jong Hyun JANG immediately restored the 5-goal gap on another penalty-corner. The game was now completely open and Philip WRIGHT added his second goal of the day in the 51st minute, deflecting a shot by Mark PEARSON. The fit Koreans were running wild all over the field and Hye Sung HYUN earned a penalty-corner at the end of a long run, dutifully converted by Jong Hyun JANG, his third of the game. The Canadian players had a brave final push but could not prevent a last penalty-corner by Hyun Woo NAM for a severe final score of 9-2.
Match Facts (Korea v. Canada):
> Korea beat Canada 9-2 to break the Korean WC record for scoring most goals in a match.
> Korea's previous highest score in a World Cup match was 7 goals against Belgium (7-2) in 1994.
> Today's defeat by 7 goals is the biggest defeat for Canada in World Cup history.
> Canada have now conceded at least 6 goals in three successive World Cup matches after losing 6-0 to both Germany and Netherlands.
> Today's 11-goal match is the second highest scoring match at Delhi 2010, following AUS-RSA 12-0.
> Jang Jong-Hyun scored a hat-trick to become the first Korean player since Song Seung-Tae in 1998 (4-2 vs CAN) to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match.
> Jang Jong-Hyun was Korea's top goal scorer at the 2006 World Cup scoring 5 goals.
> Lee Nam-Yong has now scored in all 4 matches for Korea at Delhi 2010.
> Philip Wright (CAN) scored twice in this match to become the first Canadian player since Rob Short in 1998 (vs GER 4-4) to score twice in a World Cup match. Wright is now on three goals in total at Delhi 2010.
Game 23 - New Zealand v. Argentina: 0-1 (half-time: 0-0)
New Zealand came into the match with two wins against Canada and Korea and a loss against The Netherlands, while Argentina were still pointless after 3 games, a situation that did not reflect their excellent level of play in this competition, especially in their narrow losses against Korea (1-2) and Germany (3-4). The Kiwis were unfortunately lining up without their injured Captain Phillip BURROWS.
Argentina dominated the early stages of the game. They earned a penalty-corner but Pedro IBARRA's flick was saved by Kyle PONTIFEX, always a force in goal for New Zealand. Argentina had the control of play, with a clear chance for Matias PAREDES and Lucas Martin VILA alone in front of PONTIFEX but unable to control the bouncing ball. The Kiwis however were weathering the storm efficiently and started to push up field in the last ten minutes of the period; Priyesh BHANA forced a penalty-corner in the 32nd minute that evolved in a penalty-stroke but Juan Tomas ESPINOSA in the Argentinean goal stopped Ryan ARCHIBALD's attempt and half-time was reached without any goal.
The two teams played attractive hockey in second half, but the defences were not giving up much space. New Zealand had a chance on penalty-corner and Argentina had a golden opportunity on the ensuing counter-attack but the final pass to Mario ALMADA, alone in front of the goal, was imprecise. Kyle PONTIFEX stopped two penalty-corners in a row but could not do much on a deflection from close range by Facundo CALLIONI in the 55th minute to finally break the up the deadlock.
The goal took some wind out of the Kiwis' sails. They survived another penalty-corner, shot wide by Pedro IBARRA, but seemed to have trouble reacting to the situation. They had a shooting chance for Priyesh BHANA but were running out of option against an Argentinean team packing up the circle and determined to earn the three points of the win.
Match Facts (New Zealand v. Argentina):
> Argentina collected their first WC victory since beating India 3-2 in the Qualification Match 9-12 in 2006.
> Today's win ended Argentina's 4-match losing streak in World Cup competition.
> Argentina are now one 3 points, leaving Canada as the only team that is yet to win their first points at Delhi 2010.
> Today's 1-0 score marks the lowest scoring WC match at Delhi 2010.
> Facundo Callioni (ARG) opened the score as he did in Argentina's match against Korea which they eventually lost (1-2).
> Ryan Archibald (NZL) joined Jamie Dwyer (AUS) as players to have missed a penalty stroke at Delhi 2010.
Game 24 - Germany v. Netherlands: 2-2 (half-time: 0-1)
The Netherlands entered the last match of the day unbeaten in the competition while Germany, the current World Champions, had to concede a draw to Korea in their opening game. The match was played in front of large contingents of German and Dutch fans, making up for the absence of local crowd.
The Netherlands had a penalty-corner in the opening minute, and Germany forced one immediately after at the other end but neither could use them. The game settled down in a tactical chess game played mostly in midfield for a while, with tight marking, crisp passes and running off the ball rather than with it, as is often the case with these two European teams.
The fans were enjoying this classical opposition between the two teams. Play was rich in action, but scarce in scoring chances. The Netherlands had a second penalty-corner in the 15th minute, could not control it but scored on the next one by Wouter JOLIE, with a straight hit deflected by a defender in front of the keeper.
The game opened up in the final stages of the period, with some decisive accelerations and passes by Teun DE NOOIJER, but the Dutch forwards were inprecise in their final passes and Tim JESSULAT in the German goal was not in real danger. The young German team immediately pushed forward when play resumed and were dangerous twice by Philip WITTE before Oliver KORN concluded a period of intense domination with a deflection in goal in the 44th minute.
They maintained their pressure and the Dutch defense, pushed on their heels, needed all their experience to weather the storm. The Germans monopolized the ball and ran havoc in the Dutch midfield with long runs by Moritz FÜRSTE and Benjamin WESS but seldom arrived in shooting position. The Netherlands managed to force a penalty-corner but scrambled it. Shortly after, while The Netherlands were playing short after a green card to Teun DE NOOIJER, Germany took the lead by Jan-Marco MONTAG well positioned to pick up the ball rebounding from the crossbar.
The Dutch reaction was immediate and they regain control of play, with Teun DE NOOIJER, just back on the field, on hand on the post to push in goal a ball that had eluded a German defender. With this goal, the mercurial #14 has now scored in the last five World Cups since his first participation in 1994!
In a dramatic turn of event, Germany forced a penalty-corner with no time on the clock; however they could not score and the two teams left on par, a result that position them in the top two spots in pool A.
Match facts (Germany vs. Netherlands):
> The Netherland and Germany drew to lift their points total to 10 and 8 points respectively.
>This marked only the second draw at Delhi 2010 following Germany - Korea (2-2).
> On Tuesday Germany play New Zealand and Netherlands play Korea for a semi-final berth.
> Dutch captain Teun de Nooijer has now scored in five successive World Cup editions (i.e. every World Cup since 1994).
> Ties Kruize (NED) is the only other player to have scored in five World Cup editions (1973-1986).
> Oliver Korn (GER) became the 8th Germany player to score at Delhi 2010. The only other team to have seen so many different players score is England (8).
> After 24 matches at Delhi 2010, a total of 133 goals have been scored, an average of 5.54 goals per match.
> The World Cup tournament with the highest average is 1994, when 4.98 goals per match were scored.
The Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 continues on Monday in Delhi with the conclusion of Pool B, when Spain face England, Australia meet Pakistan and South Africa conclude the day against host India.
For additional information, pictures, video clips, official game sheets, and more, please check the special FIH event site @ http://www.worldhockey.org/worldcup/.
Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 (men) - Delhi, India
Results Day 8 - Sunday 7 March 2010
Korea v. Canada 9:2 (2:0)
KOR 23mn Hyun Woo NAM (PC) 1:0
KOR 35+mn Jong Hyun JANG (PS) 2:0
KOR 38mn Nam Yong LEE (FG) 3:0
KOR 40mn Sung Hoon YOON (FG) 4:0
KOR 41mn Hyo Sik YOU (FG) 5:0
CAN 42mn Philip WRIGHT (FG) 5:1
KOR 45mn Jong Hyun JANG (PC) 6:1
CAN 51mn Philip WRIGHT (FG) 6:2
KOR 61mn Jong Hyun JANG (PC) 7:2
KOR 63mn Hyo Sik YOU (FG) 8:2
KOR 67mn Hyun Woo NAM (PC) 9:2
New Zealand v. Argentina 0:1 (0:0)
ARG 55mn Facundo CALLIONI (FG) 0:1
Germany v. The Netherlands 2:2 (0:1)
NED 23mn Wouter JOLIE (PC) 0:1
GER 44mn Oliver KORN (FG) 1:1
GER 63mn Jan-Marco MONTAG (FG) 2:1
NED 65mn Teun DE NOOIJER (FG) 2:2
Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1) Netherlands 10 pts 2) Germany 8 pts 3) Korea 7pts 4) New Zealand 6 pts 5) Argentina 3 pts 6) Canada 0 pt
Pool B: 1) England 12 pts 2) Australia 9 pts 3) Spain 6 pts 4) India 3 pts (-4) 5) Pakistan 3 pts (-6) 6) South Africa 3 pts (-15)
