Thursday, July 4, 2013

Malaysia expected a defensive side..

German coach Markus Weise was diplomatic when he said: "Six goals in 18 minutes is simply fantastic, but it does not happen to us very often and so we are very pleased with it.
  "However, I give credit to Malaysia to coming back strongly in the second half with their heads high and play good hockey. Not many teams in the world would be able to do that after letting in so many goals," said Markus.
  As for Malaysian coach Paul Revington: "We expeced the Germans to start slowly and gave them too much of space. Instead they attacked, and off seven attempts, they scored six.
  "We tried to recover in the second half, where my boys played their normal game, but the goals never came."

Class act from Germany..

OLYMPIC champions and World No 1 Germany rubbed Malaysia's nose on the Taman Daya turf when they outclassed the hosts 6-0 in the World League Semi-finals yesterday.
  The famous hammering not only saw Germany reaching the semi-finals, but also qualifying for the World Cup next year.
  Germany will play South Korea, who beat Pakistan 4-3, in the semi-finals.
  It was a nightmarish start for Malaysia as they conceded six goals in 18 minutes to Germany and the match was over even before it started.
  The Germans were in fantastic form as they never even allowed Malaysia out of their own half, and scored off their first penalty corner in the fouth Minute and Christopher Zeller nailed the lead.
  And then the floodgates opened as the Germans scored at will as goalkeeper S. Kumar and his defenders were totally off form.
  Linus Butt (eighth), Moritz Polk (ninth), Christopher Zeller (12th), Moritz Furste (16th) and Thio stralkowski (18th) completed the first half rout.
  And in the second half, even though Malaysia woke up from their slumber and started attacking, the German defense held stout.
  The capacity crowd, about 5,000, kept cheering and singing motivational songs, but Malaysia had lost the match in 18 minutes, and there was no turning back the German tsunami.
  Malaysia play Pakistan in the Fifth-Eight classification match tomorrow.
  England also hammered the daylights out of Japan to not only cruise into the semi-finals, but also the World Cup, on a 5-0 score.
  And they will play Argentina in the last four, after the Argies beat South Africa 2-0 in the other quarter-finals.
  In a complicated World League calculation, England and Germany are assured of a spot in the World Cup next year even if they finish fourth in Johor Baru, as in the first World League semi-finals in the Netherlands, the hosts also qualified when they finished third and left the fourth spot open to the highest ranked team in both the semi-finals.
  New Zealand finished fourth in Netherlands, but they are ranked World No 6, while Germany are No 1 and England No 4.
  Argentina are world No 10, while South Korea No 8 so they must finish top three to qualify.
  RESULTS: Quarter-finals -- Argentina 2 South Africa 0; England 5 Japan 0; Pakistan 3 South Korea 4; Germany 6 Malaysia 0.
  TODAY: REST DAY
  TOMORROW: Fifth-Eight: South Africa v Japan (2.45pm); Pakistan v Malaysia (5pm).
  Semi-finals: Argentina v England (7.15pm); Germany v South Korea (9.30pm).

England qualify for World Cup..

ENGLAND hammered the daylights out of Japan not only to cruise into the World League semi-finals, but also the World Cup, on a 5-0 score at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru yesterday.
  And they will play Argentina in the last four, after the Argies beat South Africa 2-0 in the other quarter-finals.
  South Korea also qualified for the semi-finals when they came back from two goals down to beat Pakistan 4-3.
  In a complicated World League calculation, England are assured of a spot in the World Cup next year even if they finish fourth in Johor Baru, as in the first World League semi-finals in the Netherlands, the hosts also qualified when they finished third and left the fourth spot open to the highest ranked team in both the semi-finals.
  New Zealand finished fourth in Netherlands, but they are ranked World No 6, while England are No 4.
  Argentina are world No 10, while South Korea No 8 so they must finish top three to qualify.
  Two penalty corner strikes from Gonzalo Peillat in the 27th and 40th minutes was enough for Argentina to beat South Africa for the semi-finals slot.
  The match was lopsided, with Argentina missing numerous sitters which could have seen a hammering, as South Africa were heavy-footed and slow in the consistent drizzle.
  And in the England match, after a slow start, the English took command and the goals came off Mark Gleghorne (20th), Barry Middleton (23rd), Harry Martin (44th), Simon Mantell (48th), Dan Fox (56th).
  "It is a big relief that we have qualified for the World Cup and now there will be no more pressure for on in the remaining two matches," said England coach Bobby Crutchley.
  As for their next opponents Argentina: "They have scored many goals (13) and only let in two in four matches and that speaks volumes about their strength. We will give our best and try to match them in every department," said Crutchley.
   

  RESULTS: Quarter-finals -- Argentina 2 South Africa 0; England 5 Japan 0; Pakistan 3 South Korea 4; Germany x Malaysia x.
  TODAY: REST DAY
  TOMORROW: Fifth-Eight: South Africa v Japan (2.45pm); Pakistan v x (5pm).
  Semi-finals: Argentina v England (7.15pm); x v South Korea (9.30pm).

Quarter-finals: Argentina 2 South Africa 0

Argentina moved into the semi-finals of the World League in Johor Baru when they beat Aouth Africa 2-0. They will either play England or Japan who meet in the next quarter-finals.
  Both the Argies goals were scored by Gonzalo Peillat.