The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Germany takes on Australia in final

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 09, 2007
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Germany takes on Australia in final

S. Thyagarajan

Kuala Lumpur: In what could go into the history of the Champions Trophy as a dramatic day, the challenger for Germany in Sunday’s final was determined in the last match on Saturday evening. And, hold your breath, it is Australia.

In an astonishing outcome, the Aussies forked out full points in must-win tie to push both the Netherlands and Korea out of contention for the gold. With 13 points, the Aussies finished second in the table. This is the 18th final for Australia in 28 appearances. The teams last met for the cup at Rotterdam in 2001. With a display that projected the typical Aussie brand of athleticism and adeptness, the team was geared up for the occasion and succeeded in pushing the world champion to the first defeat in seven matches by a 5-0 margin.

If the Koreans appeared well ensconced until Friday, Great Britain shattered their dreams forcing a 2-2 draw. the Koreans barely escaped defeat, as Great Britain, displaying noticeable vigour and vibrancy led twice in the match forcing the Koreans in search of the equaliser.

The verdict knocked the Koreans out of the final, as the Netherlands swung back into contention with a classic display against Pakistan. The result brought Korea and the Dutch on level at 12 points and with an identical goal difference of five. The Dutch moved up by virtue of their aggregate of 22 against Korea’s 18.

But the Aussies had the last laugh. It is a pity Pakistan tumbled into the penultimate place to fight with Malaysia for 7-8 positions. The outcome closes the door for Pakistan to the next edition at Rotterdam.

Pakistan will have to go through the Champions Challenge in 2009 to find a place again if it does not finish within the top six at Beijing.

Awards

Jaime Dwyer of Australia and Luciana Aymar of Argentina were selected as the best men’s and women’s player of the year respectively.

Mark Knowles of Australia and Maike Stockel were declared the best young men’s and women’s player of the year.

The results: Spain 7 (David Alegre 2, Eduard Tubau 2, Victor Sojo, Xavier Ribas 2) beat Malaysia 2 (Chua Boon Huat, Selvraju) HT 4-0; Netherlands 4 (Taeke Takema 3, Teujn di Hooijer) beat Pakistan 1 ( Waqas Sherif) HT 2-1; Great Britain 2 (Matt Daly, Richard Mantell) drew with Korea 2 (Seo Jong Ho, Nam Young Lee) HT 1-0; Australia 5 (Russel Ford, Travis Brookes, Edward Ockenden, Liam de Young, Luke Doerner) beat Germany 0; HT 2-0.

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