Australia 3 defeated Netherlands 2
Goals: AUS – Matt Naylor FG 12m, Andrew Smith PC 27m, Michael McCann FG 68m; NED – Taeke Taekema PC 17m PC 42m
Australia has qualified for the final of the Champions Trophy after a 3-2 win over the Netherlands in the opening match of day four.
The Kookaburras entered the fourth round with a two-point lead over the Dutch and needing only a draw to qualify for Sunday’s decider, and the match looked headed for that result before Michael McCann scored with a precise reverse stick low in the right corner of the goal to win the match for the Kookaburras with less than four minutes to go.
Australia got off to a good start after absorbing early Netherlands pressure with Matt Naylor scoring the 2000th goal in Champions Trophy history in the 12th minute.
The Dutch had slightly the better of play in the first half and Taeke Taekema took advantage in the 21st minute with his drag flick dribbling into the net after Australian goal keeper Stephen Mowlam got a touch on the ball but couldn’t prevent it from crossing the line.
Andrew Smith’s response for Australia was a perfectly placed flick into the roof of the net as Australia led 2-1 at half time after being able to take greater advantage of their chances.
Good pressure by the Netherlands at the start of the second half paid dividends with Taekema scoring his second, before a great save from goalkeeper Guus Vogels stopped Australia regaining the lead.
Australia gained greater control as the second half progressed and probed the Dutch defence without success before the Netherlands took their turn to attack.
The match was in its final stage when McCann ran onto a good pass and converted from the top of the circle to send Australia to the final.
Germany 1 defeated India 0
Goals: GER - Jan Marco Montag PC 19m
Germany recorded their first win of the tournament after edging India 1-0.
The win gets Germany out of the relegation zone with one match remaining until the playoffs on Sunday. The winning goal came midway through the first half with Jan Marco Montag converting low into the right corner.
With neither team in serious calculations for the final, the quality of play never reached any great heights as both teams wasted a handful of opportunities to score.
Germany’s win elevates them into the top four and with a positive result against Spain on Friday night, they will guarantee their participation in next year’s Champions Trophy and play off for bronze in Chennai.
India must somehow find a way to overcome a strong Dutch outfit on Friday to stay out the bottom two places at the end of the round robin phase. However with the Dutch needing a victory to guarantee a top two finish, the task ahead of the home team is huge.
Spain 4 defeated Pakistan 2
Goals: ESP – Pol Amat FG 5m PC 42m, David Alegre FG 23m, Xavi Ribas PC 45m; PAK – Mudassar Khan FG 54m, Muhammad Saqlain PS 68m
After Australia beat the Netherlands today, Spain knew they could keep alive their hopes for the final with a win over Pakistan. And they did win, as the clearly better team, even though the result was not too clear in the end and Pakistan did have quite a few good opportunities.
It took the Spanish less than five minutes to first get on the scoreboard with a goal from Pol Amat. In the subsequent 20 minutes, Pakistan had a handful of chances to equalize but Spain remained in control of the match and went up 2-0 in the 23rd minute with a beautiful goal from David Alegre, a reverse stick shot from a narrow angle from the far left.
The match then went into a bit of a lull with a lot of moving back and forth but few chances for either team.
After the break, Spain came back with a vengeance and made things clear with a double hit in the form of two penalty corners converted by Pol Amat and Xavi Ribas for a four goal lead.
Despite many chances, it took Pakistan until the 54th minute to get on the scoreboard, when Mudassar Khan scored a field goal, and they got closer yet through a penalty stroke converted by team captain Muhammad Saqlain. But with less than three minutes to go, there was nothing more for the Greenshirts to achieve.
While Spain now have the opportunity to on Friday reach the final, Pakistan are already certain participants in the relegation match.
