The Hindu : Sport : Lombi sparkles in Argentina’s triumph

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 03, 2007
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Sport

Sport

Lombi sparkles in Argentina’s triumph

S. Thyagarajan

Boom (Belgium): A dramatic fight back in the last five minutes and the extraordinary hat-trick by that old warhorse Jorge Lombi, who scored the golden goal, gave Argentina another trophy triumph in the men’s hockey Champions Challenge here on Sunday evening.

Even a soothsayer would not have predicted a win for Argentina when New Zealand was leading 2-0 till the 30th minute in the second half.

Hayden Shaw was till then the hero having scored scoring both the goals from impeccable penalty corners. But Argentina, persistent, wrested the initiative early in the second half. Forcing the pressure on the Kiwi defence, it slowly emerged authoritative in the mid-field. That the team forced as many as 11 penalty corners shows the dominance.

When five minutes remained for the close, Jorge Lombi drag flicked and within two minutes pumped in another blinder that bewildered the Kiwi custodian, Pontifex. The Argentines then held on as the match progressed into the golden goal phase.

And here, Jorge Lombi showed how experience and expertise matter in such vital moments. His flick sent the ball crashing into the net, even as the Argentine players rushed into the ground in wild celebration. Clearly, the hero of the day was the Argentine icon, Jorge Lombi.

Repeat

For the Kiwis, it was a case of so near and yet so far. For Argentina, it was again a win in the Challenge after the success last time in Alexandria.

Argentina will again figure in the next year’s Champions Trophy at Rotterdam.

Best goal-keeper: Cedric Degrieve (Belgium), Top scorer: Hayden Shaw (New Zealand) nine goals.