Spain vs Great Britain: 1-1 (half-time: 0-1)
Great Britain became the fourth men’s semi-finalist at the expense of
Spain in one of the most dramatic manners possible, overcoming a
heart-stopping final minute of play. Needing only a draw to progress,
the hosts were locked at 1-1 when Spain were twice awarded penalty
corners only from umpire conferrals saw the decisions rightly
over-turned, allowing GB to hold on for the result.
It left Spain distraught after a sterling fightback
after Britain had held the upper hand for much of the first 55 minutes,
taking the lead from Ashley Jackson’s fifth goal of the competition. But
when Pau Quemada pulled his side level 15 minutes from time, it set up a
grandstand finish that set the home hearts racing.
Jackson’s 33rd minute penalty corner gave Great Britain
the first half ascendancy when Ramon Alegre conceded a soft penalty
corner. Jackson drove low for his fifth goal of the tournament, taking a
small nick en route to the backboard. Otherwise, it was an intense,
physical tussle with both Pau Quemada and Edi Tubau green carded. It
made for a tight, tentative affair but there was enough guile to carve
out decent opportunities.
The first fell to Jackson off the back of James
Tindall’s drag-flick but the British talisman’s snap-shot clattered only
the outside of the goal. In response, Quemada and Tubau were putting in
a huge stint while an innovative penalty corner saw James Fair in
trouble, saved only by Iain Lewers diving clearance. Tindall and Martin
tested Francisco Cortes a couple more times but Jackson’s drive remained
the only difference between the sides at the break.
Spain, though, transformed from a placid half-press to a much higher
press and almost instantly drew dividends when Tubau robbed Richard
Smith’s loose pass. Fair blocked well, the first of a series of
significant saves in the half. GB could have been out of sight in the 53rd minute
from a manic third penalty corner, Iain Mackay bunting the ball off the
crossbar while Barry Middleton and Jackson also had digs.
Within a minute, the momentum had shifted as Quemada
found a low and true route past Fair and, from there, their need for the
three points was accompanied by an all-out surge, winning a couple of
corners before the controversial final minute. The stoppages dragged it
out but GB held on and are now looking forward to a semi-final date with
the Netherlands while Spain are destined for the fifth place play-off.
On a day of milestones, David Alegre played his 200th cap, Matt Daly his 150th; Iain Mackay in his 100th game and Iain Lewers lined out for GB for a 50th time.
(Stephen Findlater)
Australia vs. Pakistan: 7-0 (half-time: 4-0)
Anything could still happen in Pool A, with four teams
in contention for a semi-final spot (Australia, Great Britain, Pakistan
and Spain) depending on the results on this last day of pool play. But
it took less than 5 minutes for Australia to put the contest out of
doubt.
Australia were prompt to stake their claim on the match, earning a
penalty-corner within 4 minutes of play. Liam De Young picked up the
rebound from the goalkeeper after the initial shot by Christopher
Ciriello and managed to slip the bouncing ball in goal in a narrow
angle. Less than a minute later, Mark Knowles added an unstoppable
penalty-stroke under the crossbar and Pakistan were suddenly looking
into a two-goal deficit with the match hardly started.
Imran Shah was kept busy in the Pakistani goal, while
it took a while for Nathan Burgers to see any action at the other end.
Australia were pressuring the Pakistani midfield very high on the pitch,
preventing their attempts to develop any attack and reducing them to
try and use tentative high balls.
Christopher Ciriello added a goal on another penalty-corner late in
the period, then a forth one after a poor clearance by the Pakistani
defense, and the Australians went into the half-time break with a
comfortable 4-goal lead while the Pakistani team seemed at a loss to
find a solution to threaten the Australian circle.
The same pattern prevailed in second period, with
Australia having immediately another chance on penalty-corner.
Ciriello’s flick was this time way too high but it did not take long for
Russell Ford to score the 5th Australian goal with a spectacular shot
high in the opposite corner at the end of a long run. Jamie Dwyer added a
6th goal, Glenn Turner a last one, and there was not much that Pakistan
could do to prevent the Kookaburas from cruising to spectacular 7-0
victory, establishing a +18 goal difference that pretty much insured
them top spot in Pool A, as Great Britain would now have to score 13
goals against Spain to overtake them.
(Yan Huckendubler)
Argentina vs. South Africa: 6-3 (half-time: 2-2)
Argentina came back from a 2-goal deficit to severely punish South Africa (6-3) and leave them bottom of the group.
With both teams having three losses and a draw, they were out of
contention for the semi-finals and playing to avoid bottom place. The
contest was however heated from the start, with a green card to a South
African player within a couple minutes of play.
South Africa drew first blood on a spectacular
penalty-corner under the crossbar by Justin Reid-Ross, certainly one of
the best corner flickers in this competition. They doubled their tally a
few seconds later by Lloyd Norris-Jones from the field and Argentina
were already looking at a steep uphill battle.
Facundo Callioni had a golden opportunity after a splendid pass from
Agustin Mazzilli found him alone in the circle, but Erasmus Pieterse
stood tall in the South African goal and thwarted his effort. Soon after
Lucas Rossi was unlucky to hit the post after a decisive circle
penetration, then Callioni failed again to beat Pieterse from close
range before Gonzalo Peillat reduced the score on a penalty-corner in
the 24th minute.
Both teams had other chances on penalty-corners before
Lucas Rossi managed to catapult the ball in the roof of the net from a
goal mouth scramble, levelling the score for Argentina. The score was
tied at half-time (2-2), but Argentina had a better momentum after
coming back in the match after their catastrophic start and Gonzalo
Peillat added another penalty-corner, his second of the day, early in
second period to give the lead to the South Americans in this lively
contest.
Facundo Callioni deflected in goal a superb cross from Lucas Vila who
had outrun the South African defense, then did it again soon after on a
similar cross, this time from Agustin Mazzilli, and Argentina were
suddenly in a very comfortable position with a 3-goal lead. The crowd
were entertained by a flurry of goal in the final minutes. First
Jonathan Robinson pulled back a goal for South Africa, then Gonzalo
Peillat promptly re-established the 3-goal lead with his third
penalty-corner goal of the match, a strong feat for the 19 year old
playing in his first major competition.
With the win, Argentina finished 5th in pool A and will
for 9th-10th on Thursday, while South Africa will play for 11th-12th on
Saturday.
(Yan Huckendubler)
