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On the second day of he Rabobank Hockey World Cup, Pool B winners Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand each picked up three points. Die Honomas blanked The Lads 4-0 despite a valiant performance from South Africa keeper Rassie Pieterse. The Netherlands entertained a capacity crowd for a 3-1 win over a resilient Argentinian side, while New Zealand needed a late goal to win over Korea.
Men Pool B Germany v South Africa 4-0 (2-0)
The German team began their Rabobank Hockey World Cup campaign in an efficient, if slightly underwhelming fashion as they put four goals past South Africa. The match against 12th-ranked South Africa saw the reigning Olympic champions and second-ranked team begin at a steady pace, building patterns of play and feeling their way into the game. Four different players tallied for Germany including Christopher Zeller, Mats Grambusch, Oliver Korn and Thilo Stralkowski. South African keeper Rassie Pieterse was praised by both sides for his outstanding performance in goal.
MEN Pool B Netherlands v Argentina 3-1 (1-1)
The Kyocera Stadium turned orange as 15,000 people turned up to cheer the home team in their opening match against Argentina. And the Oranje did not disappoint as they played hockey that was both spectacular and stylish to win their opener 3-1. And Argentina added their own substantial skill and flair to the occasion, keeping the Dutch attack at bay for periods of the game and forcing goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann to make saves from the top drawer of goalkeeping. Three different goal scorers got on the board in the win for Netherlands, while Gonzalo Peillat made good on a penalty corner flick for Argentina.
MEN Pool B New Zealand v Korea 2-1 (1-0)
This was a close encounter between the sixth and seventh seeds respectively and it played out as such. New Zealand took an early lead through Steve Edwards (1'), but the closely-fought contest was not decided until the final minute of the game, when one of the Black Sticks most experienced players, Phil Burrows, took his chance in front of goal. Kim Seongyu was the lone scorer for Korea despiet a penalty stroke opportunity taken by Jang Jonghyu that rang off the cross bar.
Men's action continues tomorrow, 2 June, with Australian and Spain (13:00 CET), England and India (16:00 CET), as well as Netherlands and Korea (19:45 CET). Visit the website rabobankhockeyworldcup2014.com for scores, video, schedule and more!
For photos, videos and more, visit Rabobankhockeyworldcup2014.com
