At the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in Delhi, Spain took 5th place over Korea with two Paul Amat goals, Argentina overpowered India for 7th place with three goals in four minutes and New Zealand took the best over South Africa at the end of a nail biting penalty-stroke competition.
Game 34 - 9th-10th - New Zealand v. South Africa: 4-4 - penalty-strokes: 5-4(half-time: 0-1 - full-time: 4-4)
The match for 9th place started well for the African Champions, Justin REID-ROSS scoring a penalty-corner in the 4th minute to grab an early lead. Both teams were playing high paced hockey despite the blaring afternoon sun. South Africa had the biggest share of play but were well contained by the Kiwis and could not progress close enough to the circle. New Zealand were more opportunistic and earned a penalty-corner on a rare incursion in the circle but could not capitalize.
After a green card to Lloyd NORRIS-JONES, momentum shifted, the Kiwis monopolized the ball and pushed South Africa on their heels for a long period of time but without creating much danger for Erasmus PIETERSE in goal. The best chance was for Shea MCALEESE shooting from close range but the South African keeper protected his goal with a spectacular save. Ryan ARCHIBALD and Blair HILTON, alone in the middle of circle, were at the reception of a free hit shot hard in the circle by Steven EDWARDS but they both missed the ball.
New Zealand finally equalized early in second period by Hugo INGLIS, perfectly set-up by Ryan ARCHIBALD, and took the lead less than a minute later on a penalty-corner by Andrew HAYWARD. The game suddenly opened up and Lloyd NORRIS-JONES tied the game for South Africa in the 45th minute after an acceleration that left stranded a couple of Kiwis and a shot from the top of the circle that left no chance to Kyle PONTIFEX in goal. However, nearly on the next play, New Zealand regained the lead with another Andrew HAYWARD's penalty-corner... only to see Taine PATON level the game again with a reverse shot that surprised PONTIFEX. Five goals in less than ten minutes!
Thomas HAMMOND put South Africa back on top with an opportunistic follow-up on a ball bouncing in the circle that the defenders could not control. The Kiwis had to play short after a green card in the final ten minutes, lost some momentum and barely avoided another goal, but Andrew HAYWARD scored his third penalty-corner of the match with no time left on regulation time to push the game in overtime!
From there, it was anybody's game and, with fatigue kicking in, both teams played cautiously for a while before creating more chances in the second period of overtime. Once again South Africa conceded a penalty-corner in the final seconds but Andrew HAYWARD could not convert this time and the fate of the game had to be decided by a penalty-stroke shootout, where New Zealand prevailed 5-4 after two saves by Kyle PONTIFEX.
New Zealand finished 9th but have been struggling since they lost their skipper Phillip BURROWS on injury after their second game in this World Cup. South Africa finished 10th; they have been playing well since their drubbing at the hands of Australia earlier in the competition and certainly finished on an ascending note, with victories over Pakistan, a draw with India and this close loss to New Zealand.
Match Facts (New Zealand v. South Africa):
> New Zealand beat South Africa 5-4 in a penalty stroke competition after a 4-4 draw in the Final 9-10 at Delhi 2010.
> New Zealand finished ninth at a World Cup for the third time (1986, 2002, 2010).
> South Africa equalled their best result ever in World Cup competition by finishing 10th as they did in 1994.
> Andy Hayward netted 3 times today, to become the first New Zealand player since Hayden Shaw in 2002 to score a World Cup hat-trick.
> Hayward also became NZL's top goal scorer with four goals at Delhi 2010.
> Lloyd Norris-Jones netted his third goal of the tournament to join Marvin Harper as RSA's top goal scorers at Delhi 2010.
> NZL converted 3 from 5 penalty comers in today's match.
> NZL's PC record for the whole tournament is 6 for 15 (40%).
> RSA ended the Delhi 2010 World Cup penalty corner success rate at 4 for 17 (24%).
Game 35 - 7th-8th - Argentina v. India: 4-2 (half-time: 1-0)
India was playing to salvage some pride in ÔÇ£theirÔÇØ World Cup and to confirm their progression, since a 7th (or even 8th) place would be their best result since 1994 after their dismal performances in 1998 (9th), 2002 (10th) then Monchengladbach (11th). The crowd was smaller than on the initial days but was supporting the home team as enthusiastically as ever.
India had an early penalty-corner but Sandeep SINGH's flick was way too high. They kept dominating the early stages of the match, raising waves of expectations with each run and each dribble, but the Argentinean were prepared for this initial surge and weathered the storm as well as they could. The best chance was for Gurwinder Singh CHANDI at the conclusion of a vast Indian movement but his shot from the top of the circle was wide. Argentina were trying to find their high forwards with long aerial ball, a tactic that proved inefficient.
Indian skipper Rajpal SINGH was very active on their front line, but they could not generate many clear chances and Argentina started to push more, opening the scoring in the 28th minute by Tomas ARGENTO, poaching a ball behind Indian goalkeeper Adrian D'SOUZA. India had another chance on penalty-corner but Fernando ZYLBERBERG saved it on the line and India found themselves empty-handed again despite having done most of the work in a highly entertaining first period played at blistering speed.
India were all over the Argentinean circle as soon as play resumed after half-time. The South Americans were saved by a video-umpire referral that reversed a penalty-corner call and both goal-keepers were called into action in quick succession in this fast flowing game going end-to-end. India were awarded a penalty-stroke in the 42nd minute after a stick tackle and Sandeep SINGH officiated to pull his team level. However, the ecstatic cheers had not yet died down that Lucas VILA had scored at the other end on a penalty-corner! He added a field goal soon after, followed by another field goal by Facundo CALLIONI, and Argentina were suddenly up by three goals, with the crowd in a stunned silence.
Shivendra SINGH gave back some hope in the 49th minute, picking up his own rebound from close range. With twenty minutes left on the clock, Argentina were facing a long end of match and were concentrating their strength on their defense, anchored by an imperial Pedro IBARRA. With times passing, India seemed to lose hope, their passes became less precise and their dribbles erratic; Argentina pushed forward and completely overwhelmed the Indian defense on two occasions but missed their fifth goal by a whisker.
Despite the drums in the stands, India could not rekindle the magic and Argentina ran away with the win and the seventh place. They played well in this World Cup and could even have finished higher without some of their narrow losses (against Korea and Germany) earlier in the competition.
Match Facts (Argentina v. India):
> Argentina beat India to finish 7th, their best World Cup result since 2002, when they were placed 6th.
> In 1994 Argentina also finished 7th, beating Korea on penalty strokes.
> For India 8th place is their best World Cup ranking since 1994, when they were placed 5th.
> India's 8th place finish equals the lowest ranking for a World Cup host. Argentina (1978) and Malaysia (2002) also finished 8th on home soil.
> India have failed to win their last 5 WC matches (1 draw, 4 defeats). Their only win at Delhi 2010 was the 4-1 vs Pakistan in their first match.
> Lucas Vila scored twice today, to become top goal scorer for Argentina at Delhi 2010 at 4 goals.
> Sandeep Singh became the first player to score a World Cup penalty stroke goal for India since Baljit Singh Dhillon in 2002 in India's 4-1 won over Poland.
> Sandeep Singh's 4 goals at Delhi 2010make him the top goal scorer for the Indian team this tournament.
> India PC success rate at Delhi 2010 is 4 for 20.
> Argentina converted 4 of 4 PCs at Delhi 2010.
Game 33 - 5th-6th - Korea v. Spain: 0-2 (half-time: 0-2)
The winner of the last match of the day for 5th-6th place would also earn a berth for the 2010 Champions Trophy in Monchengladbach, alongside the already qualified teams Australia, England, Germany, New Zealand and The Netherlands. The match started with a bang, Pol AMAT diving full length to deflect out of reach of the Korean goalkeeper a deep pass by Alex FABREGAS. The goal was scored after... 18 seconds of play, a new record for World Cup action!
Interestingly, the statistics showed that the three teams that scored a goal in the first minute of play in this competition ended up losing the match (Canada lost to New Zealand 2-3, New Zealand lost to The Netherlands 1-3 and Netherlands lost to Korea 1-2) but the Spaniards did not seem bothered by the numbers and kept attacking, progressing very fast up the field with their positive passes while the Koreans were taking their time to build their moves, passing patiently laterally until they found a way to break forward at blistering speed.
Spain earned a penalty-corner after a referral to the video-umpire but Pau QUEMADA powerful flick crashed on the crossbar and was cleared by a defender. The game settled in midfield for a while, Spain looking confident and dangerous each time they were getting within shooting distance, while Francisco CORTES in their goal was seldom called into action.
Spain were at their best in first period, and one had to wonder how Pakistan managed to beat them to push them out of semi-final action, but they could not capitalize on their domination, leaving the door open for Korea to come back in the game. The Asian Champions nearly did that in the final minutes of the period, first forcing a penalty-corner in a rare circle penetration then on a shoot from close range that went just inches wide. This was enough of a warning for Spain and Pol AMAT added a second goal in the 32nd minute, left facing an empty net after David ALEGRE attracted the Korean keeper and managed a diving pass.
The Koreans switched on high gear as soon as play resumed and took control of the tempo. Spain showed poise to hold tight facing wave after wave of attack. They conceded a penalty-corner, shot wide by Seung Il LEE, but the Spanish defense did not leave much space or time to the Korean attackers. They also showed their experience, choosing when not to contest balls that they had little chance to win, in order to preserve energy for the end of the game. Korea scrambled another penalty-corner chance. With time passing, their efforts became more and more intense, but so was also the Spaniards' resolve to hang on to their lead.
No more goals were scored and Spain finished this World Cup at a very respectable 5th place.
Match Facts (Korea v. Spain):
> Spain beat Korea to claim fifth place at the World Cup and more importantly, Spain qualify for the 2010 Champions Trophy.
> With four European teams qualified and two from Oceania, the 2010 CT tournament in Monchengladbach will be the first Men's Champions Trophy without an Asian team present.
> This is the first World Cup match to see two goals from Pol Amat (ESP). His previous 8 WC goals were all scored in 8 different matches.
> Pol Amat's opening goal after only 18 seconds is the fastest of the Deli 2010 tournament.
> Korea have now conceded the two fastest goals at Delhi 2010. Ronald Brouwer (NED) scored after 25 seconds against Korea in the pool match.
> Spain have now won all four of their World Cup Final 5-6 matches, beating England (3-0) in 1973, India (2-0) in 1978, Argentina (3-2) in 1986 and Korea (2-0) in 2010.
The Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 concludes on Saturday in Delhi with the medal matches, when England face The Netherlands for the bronze medal and Germany and Australia lock horn in the much anticipated final for the 2010 World Cup title.
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 12 - Friday 12 March 2010
9th-10th - New Zealand v. South Africa 4:4 + penalty-stokes 5-4 (0:1, 4:4)
RSA 4mn Justin REID-ROSS (PC) 0:1
NZL 40mn Hugo INGLIS (FG) 1:1
NZL 42mn Andrew HAYWARD (PC) 2:1
RSA 45mn Lloyd NORRIS-JONES (FG) 2:2
NZL 49mn Andrew HAYWARD (PC) 3:2
RSA 50mn Taine PATON (FG) 3:3
RSA 57mn Thomas HAMMOND (FG) 3:4
NZL 70+mn Andrew HAYWARD (PC) 4:4
7th-8th - Argentina v. India 4:2 (1:0)
ARG 28mn Tomas ARGENTO INNOCENTE (FG) 1:0
IND 42mn Sandeep SINGH (PS) 1:1
ARG 43mn Lucas Martin VILA (PC) 2:1
ARG 45mn Lucas Martin VILA (FG) 3:1
ARG 46mn Facundo CALLIONI (FG) 4:1
IND 49mn Shivendra SINGH (FG) 4:2
5th-6th - Korea v. Spain 0:2 (0:2)
ESP 1mn Pol AMAT (FG) 0:1
ESP 32mn Pol AMAT (FG) 0:2
Schedule for last day:
Saturday 13 march
15:35 - 3rd-4th - England v. Netherlands
18:05 - Final - Germany v. Australia
Final Standings:
1) to 4) to be decided on Saturday
5) Spain
6) Korea
7) Argentina
8) India
9) New Zealand
10) South Africa
11) Canada
12) Pakistan
