Day 7 of the Samsung Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur saw Spain inflict a heavy defeat on Malaysia, Great Britain hold Korea to a draw, the Netherlands winning relatively easy against Pakistan, and Australia achieving the same in their encounter with Germany.
In the first match of the day, Spain needed to win big to keep their hopes for the final alive, and they did just that. After a laborious start against a Malaysian side that was constantly looking to get the quick break and got dangerous several times on counterattacks, the Spaniards struggled for twenty minutes before a sudden flurry of goals ended the drought. Spain scored 4 goals between the 20th and the 26th minute, with David Alegre and Victor Sojo netting once each, while Edi Tubau contributed two.
As sudden as it had come, the scoring ended again, and the two teams went into half-time at 4-0 for Spain. When the match re-started, it seemed for a few minutes as if Spain had lost the momentum. Malaysia netted twice in the space of three minutes through Boon Huat Chua and Selvaraju Sandrakasi, but then Spain found back onto the path to victory and replied within another three minute period with a second goal from David Alegre and a penalty corner conversion by Xavi Ribas.
The at times frantic pace of the match then subsided, the two sides settling into a steady rhythm of back-and-forth. Late in the match, Edu Arbos piled on Spain´s 7th, tipping in the rebound off a saved penalty corner, and taking Spain to equaling their highest ever Champions Trophy win. The Iberians had thus done their part, temporarily shooting up to second place in the standings, and retreated hoping for Korea, the Netherlands, or Australia to slip up to keep them in the top four of the event.
In the second game of the day, Korea needed a win against Great Britain to secure a berth in the Final without waiting for the outcome of the following games. The odds seemed in their favor with the intense heat in the direct sun of pitch 2, but they had trouble finding their rhythm. Meanwhile Great Britain capitalized on their first serious opportunity by Matt Daly, who received the ball at the top of the circle and fired an instant shot that surprises Dong Sik Ko in the Korean goal.
Korea progressively built up more pressure, but the British defense held tight to go into the break with the lead. They held for ten more minutes in second half before Jong Ho Seo beat Ali McGregor from close range to tie the score. The British players were not down yet and finally managed to score their first penalty-corner of the competition in the 61st minute by Richard Mantell to reclaim the lead.
Their joy was short-lived however, as it took less than one minute for the Korean attackers to overwhelm the British defense, with Nam Yong Lee tying the score. The last ten minutes were long for the exhausted British players, but they held for dear life and salvaged a good point for their gutsy performance.
The day´s second match on the main pitch had the Netherlands take on Pakistan. The Dutch had a firm grip on the proceedings today, controlling play without much effort. The Greenshirts looked more creative and more dangerous than Oranje in the first half, but faded in the second half, no longer offering much resistance. The Netherlands had scores of opportunities throughout the match and could easily have pushed the score line higher but decided to not overexert themselves, and reeled the match off without great enthusiasm.
First getting on the scoreboard in the 15th minute when Taeke Taekema sunk a penalty corner, the Dutch had to accept an immediate reply from Pakistan as Waqas Sharif netted the equalizer, but they went ahead again shortly before half-time through a beautiful Teun de Nooijer goal. In the second half, Taeke Taekema did all the scoring for Holland, adding a second penalty corner goal and converting a penalty stroke that had been fiercely disputed by Pakistan to no avail. Taekema thus took his tournament total to five goals, and gave the Dutch exactly the score line they needed to overtake Korea and temporarily claim second place, keeping alive their hopes for the final.
The last game of the only had a meaning for Australia: a win would send them in the Final, while Germany had already secured their berth and didn’t show up in the mental frame of mind to offer a strong resistance to the Australian assaults. The first half was intense, but not very exciting for the spectators with the two teams neutralizing each other very efficiently. Australia took full advantage of their opportunities and deservingly went into the break with a two-goal lead after two field goals in quick succession by Russell Ford and Travis Brooks.
The contest was quickly put beyond doubt early in the second period after a nice deflection by Eddie Ockenden increased the lead to three goals. The Germans tried to react and score at least a goal, but their heart was not into fighting and they even missed six penalty corners. At the other end, Australia were more efficient and added two penalty-corner goals by Liam De Young and Luke Doerner for a comfortable win that opened them the door of the Final.
Both coaches were nevertheless quick to say that tomorrow’s game for the 2007 Champions Trophy will be a completely different affair. Both teams will show up at full strength, without injury.
The Samsung Champions Trophy Kuala Lumpur 2007 ends tomorrow with the play-off for 7th/8th place between Pakistan and Malaysia, the match for 5th/6th place between Spain and Great Britain, the bronze medal match between Korea and the Netherlands, and the 2007 Champions Trophy final between World Champions Germany and Olympic Champions Australia.
Apart from the medal matches, the play-off for 5th/6th place between Spain and Great Britain carries special weight, as it will determine the last participant in next year’s edition of the Champions Trophy: the winner of the match will join Germany, Australia, Korea, the Netherlands, and Argentina in Rotterdam in June 2008.
Samsung Hockey Champions Trophy, Men
Results day 7: Saturday 8 December 2007
Malaysia - Spain 2:7 (0:4)
20. David Alegre 0:1; 23. Victor Sojo 0:2; 25. Edi Tubau 0:3; 26. Edi Tubau 0:4; 39. Boon Huat Chua 1:4; 42. Selvaraju Sandrakasi 2:4; 45. David Alegre 2:5; 47. Xavi Ribas 2:6; 61. Edu Arbos 2:7
Netherlands - Pakistan 4:1 (2:1)
15. Taeke Taekema 1:0; 19. Waqas Sharif 1:1; 32. Teun de Nooijer 2:1; 38. Taeke Taekema 3:1; 61. Taeke Taekema 4:1
Great Britain - Korea
6. Matt Daly 1:0; 44. Jong Ho Seo 1:1; 61. Richard Mantell 2:1; 62. Nam Yong Lee 2:2
Australia - Germany 5:0 (2:0)
23. Russell Ford 1:0; 25. Travis Brooks 2:0; 40. Eddie Ockenden 3:0; 51. Liam de Young 4:0; 64. Luke Doerner 5:0
