A South African massacre!

At the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in Delhi, England and Spain were impressive and won over Pakistan and India on similar scores (5-2), while Australia crushed South Africa (12-0)

Game 13 – South Africa v. Australia: 0-12 (half-time: 0-5)

The first game of the day was between South Africa and Australia, a first in World Cup history. The last time these teams met was at the 2008 Olympic Games, when Australia crushed South Africa (10-0), and the last time the African Champions won over the Kookaburras was at the 1998 Commonwealth Games (3-2). Australia opened the competition with a loss to England (2-3) but came back to beat India (5-2), while South Africa were still chasing their first point.

Match facts (South Africa v. Australia):

> The Kookaburras recorded the biggest ever win in World Cup history beating South Africa 12-0.
> The biggest World Cup winning margin till today was 9 goals.
> Australia also equalled Pakistan’s 28-year-old World Cup record for most goals scored in a match by a single team (12).
> In 1982 Pakistan defeated New Zealand 12-3.
> At the 2008 Olympic Games, Australia had crushed South Africa 10-0.

Game 14 – England v. Pakistan: 5-2 (half-time: 2-0)

England, unbeaten so far in the competition, started with a bang and thought that they had taken the lead in the third minute when Iain MACKAY batted into goal a ball lifted into the circle by a Pakistani defender, however the goal was disallowed by the video-umpire after a lengthy review.

Match facts (England v. Pakistan):

> England beat Pakistan by three goals their biggest winning margin over Pakistan in World Cup competition.
> England have won 4 of their 8 World Cup matches against Pakistan, drawing 2 and losing 2.
> England go top in Pool B with 9 points from 3 matches.
> Eight England players have now scored at least once at the 2010 World Cup.
> Ashley Jackson is now on three goals in this world Cup.


Game 15 – Spain v. India: 5-2 (half-time: 2-0)

The last game of the day between Spain and host India started in the usual boisterous atmosphere. The pundits have been harsh towards the Indian team after their severe loss to Australia, but the crowd in the stadium was as devoted as ever, screaming their hope each time an Indian player was moving forward.

Match facts (Spain v. India):

> Spain beat India 5-2 to collect their second win at the 2010 World Cup.
> Today’s 5 goals equalled Spain’s scoring record in World Cup matches. They also scored five times in 1973 (5-0 vs Belgium) and 2002 (5-1 vs Japan).
> Spain join Australia on 6 points from 3 matches. Only England (9 points) did better in Pool B.
> India and Pakistan are on three points from 3 matches.
> This match saw three goals being scored in three minutes time (41’, 42’, 43’). This marks the fastest set of three goals at the 2010 World Cup.
> The South Africa – England (4-6) match saw three goals being scored in four minutes time (50’, 51’, 53’).
> Albert Sala’s goal was the first for Spain in a WC match against India in 24 years.
> Pablo Amat netted once. He has now scored in all four World Cup editions since 1998. The only other player to have scored in ever WC since 1998 is Sohail Abbas (PAK).

South Africa v. Australia 0:12 (0:5)
AUS 15mn Luke DOERNER (PC) 0:1
AUS 21mn Glenn TURNER (FG) 0:2
AUS 26mn Desmond ABBOTT (FG) 0:3
AUS 34mn Luke DOERNER (PC) 0:4
AUS 35+mn Fergus KAVANAGH (PC) 0:5
AUS 44mn Matthew BUTTURINI (FG) 0:6
AUS 49mn Luke DOERNER (PC) 0:7
AUS 52mn Jamie DWYER (FG) 0:8
AUS 54mn Jamie DWYER (FG) 0:9
AUS 61mn Glenn TURNER (FG) 0:10
AUS 65mn Jamie DWYER (FG) 0:11
AUS 68mn Luke DOERNER (PC) 0:12

England v. Pakistan 5:2 (0:2)
ENG 21mn Jonty CLARKE (FG) 1:0
ENG 32mn Ashley JACKSON (FG) 2:0
PAK 45mn Shakeel ABBASI (FG) 2:1
PAK 48mn Rehan BUTT (PC) 2:2
ENG 53mn Barry MIDDLETON (FG) 3:2
ENG 62mn Jonty CLARKE (FG) 4:2
ENG 64mn Barry MIDDLETON (FG) 5:2

Spain v. India 5:2 (2:0)
ESP 19mn Albert SALA (FG) 1:0
ESP 35mn Pol AMAT (FG) 2:0
IND 39mn Sandeep SINGH (PC) 2:1
ESP 41mn Pau QUEMADA (PC) 3:1
ESP 42mn Roc OLIVA (FG) 4:1
IND 43mn Gurwinder Singh CHANDI (FG) 4:2
ESP 67mn Pau QUEMADA (FG) 5:2

Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1) Netherlands 6 pts 2) Germany 4 pts (+6) 3) Korea 4 pts (+1) 4) New Zealand 3pts 5) Argentina 0 pt (-4) 6) Canada 0 pt (-7)
Pool B: 1) England 9 pts 2) Australia 6 pts (+14) 3) Spain 6 pts (+4) 4) India 3 pts (-3) 5) Pakistan 3 pts (-5) 6) South Africa 0 pt

Koreans show class

The Netherlands earned their second win at the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 in Delhi, beating New Zealand (3-1), while Germany and Korea added a win to their tie on opening day.
Game 10 – Canada v. Germany: 0-6 (half-time: 0-4)
The first game of day 4 pitted the youngest team of the competition (Germany, 24 years old) lead by the youngest Captain (Maximilian MÜLLER, 22) to the oldest team (Canada, 27) lead by veteran Ken PEREIRA (36). The two teams have not met often, and only once in a World Cup back in 1998 when the match ended in a 4-4 tie with Rob Short, still playing in the Canadian team today, scoring two goals.
Match facts (Canada vs. Germany):
> Germany won 6-0 to hand Canada their biggest World Cup defeat ever.
> Canada had never lost by more than four goals in World Cup competition.
> Today’s 6-0 victory also marked the joined second biggest World Cup win for Germany and their biggest in 32 years since beating India 7-0 in 1978.
> Germany equaled the Pakistan’s longest World cup unbeaten streak by avoiding defeat in their 15th consecutive World Cup match. Only Australia have ever set a longer WC run without defeat (20 matches).
> Benjamin Wess and Florian Fuchs (GER) joined David Alegre (ESP) and Ashley Jackson (ENG) as players to have scored in both of their team’s matches at the 2010 World Cup.
> Florian Fuchs (GER) scored twice against Canada. He has now netted three goals at the 2010 World Cup.
> Germany skipper Max Mueller became the third captain to score at the 2010 World Cup, joining Jamie Dwyer (AUS, 2 goals) and Rajpal Singh (IND, 1 goal).
> Canada are still to collect their first points at Delhi 2010.
> Germany are now on four points from two matches.


Game 11 – Argentina v. Korea: 2-1 (half-time: 0-0)

Argentina and Korea have not met in World Cup action since 1994 in Sydney, when current Korean Coach Seok Kyo SHIN was still playing for his country.
Match Facts (Argentina v. Korea):

> Korea beat Argentina 2-1 as Nam Hyun-Woo converted a penalty corner in the last minute of the match.
> Korea also pulled this trick in the 2006 World Cup. In their match against India they scored the winning goal in the 69th minute by converting a penalty corner.
> Facundo Callioni scored Argentina’s first goal at Delhi 2010 and the first World Cup goal for Argentina since Rodrigo Vila scored in the 2006 Final 9-10 against Japan (2-1).
> Lee Nam-Yong scored the equaliser for Korea. He joins Benjamin Wess (GER), Florian Fuchs (GER), David Alegre (ESP) and Ashley Jackson (ENG) as players to have scored in both of their team’s matches at the 2010 World Cup.


Game 12 – New Zealand v. Netherlands: 1-3 (half-time: 1-3)

The last match of the day between New Zealand and The Netherlands started with a bang! Black Sticks Captain Phillip BURROWS sneaked in the Dutch defense to deflect the ball in goal in the first minute of play and shortly after Ronald BROUWER was on hand to pick up the rebound after a reverse stick shot by Teun DE NOOIJER was stopped by Kyle PONTIFEX. Two goals in less than two minutes. The avalanche continued a few minutes later when Taeke TAEKEMA made no mistake to score his forth penalty-corner of the competition.

Match facts (New Zealand v. Netherlands):

> The Netherlands join England as the only team to have won maximum points from their first two matches.
> With only one goal conceded, the Dutch have allowed least goals so far at Delhi 2010.
> Taeke Taekema converted one of five penalty corners in this match to lift his Delhi 2010 PC tally to 4. This brings him to the top of the goals scorer list.
> Only 2 minutes into the match, both teams had already scored a goal.
> The last time two teams scored one goal each within 10 minutes from the start of the match, was in the 2002 semi-final Germany-Korea (3-2), when the score was 1-1 after 7 minutes.
> Ronald Brouwer (NED) scored his 4th WC goal and his first in 2010.
> Dutch side Rotterdam saw two of their players score in this match: Phillip Burrows (NZL) and Jeroen Hertzberger (NED).

Results Day 4 - Wednesday 3 March 2010

Canada v. Germany 0:6 (0:4)
GER 3mn Benjamin WESS (FG) 0:1
GER 21mn Jan-Marco MONTAG (PC) 0:2
GER 22mn Maximilian MÜLLER (PC) 0:3
GER 27mn Martin HÄNER (PC) 0:4
GER 58mn Florian FUCHS (FG) 0:5
GER 63mn Florian FUCHS (FG) 0:6

Argentina v. Korea 2:1 (0:0)
ARG 53mn Facundo CALLIONI (FG) 1:0
KOR 62mn Nam Yong LEE (FG) 1:1
KOR 70mn Hyun Woo NAM (PC) 1:2

New Zealand v. Netherlands 1:3 (1:3)
NZL 1mn Phillip BURROWS (FG) 1:0
NED 2mn Ronald BROUWER (FG) 1:1
NED 8mn Taeke TAEKEMA (PC) 1:2
NED 27mn Jeroen HERTZBERGER (PC) 1:3

Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1) Netherlands 6 pts 2) Germany 4 pts (+6) 3) Korea 4 pts (+1) 4) New Zealand 3pts 5) Argentina 0 pt (-4) 6) Canada 0 pt (-7)
Pool B: 1) England 6 pts 2) Australia 3 pts (+2) 3) Spain 3 pts (+1) 4) India 3 pts (0) 5) Pakistan 3 pts (-2) 6) South Africa 0 pt

Australia and England win thrillers

Game 7 – South Africa v. England: 4-6 (half-time: 2-2)

The two teams opening the third day of competition had very different World Cup experience; England have participated in ten out of eleven previous Cups and reached the final in 1986 while South Africa only had four modest appearances, with a tenth place as best result.

Match facts (South Africa v. England):
> This is the fifth ever World Cup match to see at least 10 goals being scored and the first since 1998, when Pakistan beat England 7-5.
> Today’s six goals mark the third highest score by England in a World Cup match. England had previously scored 7 goals against Cuba in 2002 (7-0) and six against Ghana in 1975 (6-1).
> Richard Mantell (ENG) added to his three goals from the 2006 World Cup to lift his total to five WC goals, all from penalty corners. Four of these he scored against South Africa.
> England have now converted 4 of 6 penalty corners awarded at Delhi 2010 (66%).
> South Africa lost their second successive game at the 2010 World Cup going down in the second half after a 2-2 half-time score.
> South Africa have now conceded 10 goals in 2 matches at Delhi 2010.
> RSA are still to convert their first penalty corner (4 have been awarded to them).

Game 8 – Pakistan v. Spain: 2-1 (half-time: 1-0)

The second game of the day started at full speed, with both teams pleasing the crowd with fast attacking moves that swept the whole length of the pitch. There were some hot situations in front of Francisco CORTES in the Spanish goal, but the defense managed to clear. After fifteen minutes of furious back and forth attacking, the tempo somewhat abated, both teams neutralizing each other before entering the shooting circle,

Match facts (Pakistan v. Spain):
> Pakistan beat Spain 2-1 to collect their first victory at Delhi 2010 and their 8th win over Spain in WC competition.
> Pakistan have are now unbeaten in their last 3 competitive matches against Spain. They also beat Spain at the 2007 CT (2-0) and drew 2-2 at the 2002 World Cup.
> Abdul Haseem Khan scored twice to lead Pakistan to victory. The last player to score multiple goals in a World Cup match for Pakistan was Muhammad Zubair vs NZL in 2006 (20 goals.)
> David Alegre scored the equaliser. He also scored for Spain in the match against South Africa.
> Both Spain and Pakistan are now on 3 points from 2 matches at the 2010 World Cup.

Game 9 – India v. Australia: 2-5 (half-time: 1-3)

The last game of the day started in a fiery atmosphere but the Aussies were not impressed by the deafening noise and the crowd was quickly silenced by a quick goal by Liam DE YOUNG calmly collecting a rebound from a shot on the crossbar. They extended their lead a few minutes later on a penalty-corner, Glenn TURNER pushing over the line a shot originally stopped by the Indian defense.

Match Facts (India v. Australia):
> India went down 5-2 and suffered their fifth straight defeat against Australia in World Cup competition.
> Liam De Young, Glenn Turner (2) and Dess Abbott all scored for the first time in World Cup competition.
> Luke Doerner scored once to add to his two goals from the 2006 World Cup.
> Vikram Pillay became the first India player since Prabhjot Singh in 2002 to score in a World Cup match against Australia.
> Rajpal Singh scored his third World Cup goal, adding to his goals in 2006 vs ARG and RSA.
> England lead Pool B with six points from two matches. Australia, Spain, India and Pakistan are all on three points. South Africa are botton, still awaiting their first point at this World Cup.

South Africa v. England 4:6 (2:2)
RSA 9mn Marvin HARPER (FG) 1:0
ENG 14mn Richard MANTELL (PC) 1:1
ENG 23mn Rob MOORE (FG) 1:2
RSA 25mn Lloyd NORRIS-JONES (FG) 2:2
ENG 43mn Ashley JACKSON (FG) 2:3
ENG 50mn Nick CATLIN (FG) 2:4
ENG 51mn Iain MACKAY (FG) 2:5
RSA 53mn Marvin HARPER (FG) 3:5
ENG 57mn Richard MANTELL (PC) 3:6
RSA 67mn Thornton McDADE (FG) 4:6

Pakistan v. Spain 2:1 (1:0)
PAK 30mn Abdul Haseem KHAN (FG) 1:0
ESP 65mn David ALEGRE (PC) 1:1
PAK 67mn Abdul Haseem KHAN (PC) 2:1

India v. Australia 2:5 (1:3)
AUS 2mn Liam DE YOUNG (FG) 0:1
AUS 7mn Glenn TURNER (PC) 0:2
AUS 26mn Desmond ABBOTT (FG) 0:3
IND 35mn Vikram PILLAY (FG) 1:3
AUS 42mn Luke DOERNER (PC) 1:4
AUS 43mn Glenn TURNER (PC) 1:5
IND 53mn Rajpal SINGH (FG) 2:5

Kiwis and Dutch make impact

Game 4 – New Zealand v. Canada: 3-2 (half-time: 1-2)

The last time New Zealand and Canada met in a World Cup was in 1998 in Utrecht; it ended in a tie (3-3) with current Canadian Coach Alan Brahmst scoring a penalty-corner for his team. Two current Canadian players, Ken PEREIRA and Rob SHORT, were already playing back then and were honoured before the start of today’s game for their 300th International Cap.

Match Facts (New Zealand v. Canada):
> New Zealand won 3-2 to extend their World Cup unbeaten run against Canada to three matches.
> Today’s victory ended New Zealand’s 4-match losing streak in WC competition.
> Ryan Archibald (NZL) 67th minute winner marked the third WC goal in his career. He has now scored in three successive World Cup tournaments.
> Archibald has now equalled the New Zealand record for scoring in most World Cup editions, held by Arthur Parkin and Ramesh Patel, who both scored in 1973, 1975 and 1982.
> Priyesh Bhana, Nick Haig (NZL), Mark Pearson (CAN) and Philip Wright (CAN) all scored on their World Cup debut.

Game 5 – Germany v. Korea: 2-2 (half-time: 0-2)

Two-time defending World Champions Germany started the defense of their title against Korea, a team against which they are unbeaten in World Cup history. Things did not start well for them: after scrambling two penalty-corners, they had to defend one earned after video-referral by the Koreans, and Hye Sung HYUN made no mistake to power his drag-flick past Maximilian MÜLLER in the German goal.

Match Facts (Germany v. Korea):
> Germany came back from 2 goals down to draw 2-2 with Korea and avoid their first defeat against Korea in 5 World Cup matches.
> Germany extended their World Cup unbeaten run to 14-matches, the third longest unbeaten streak in the history of the competition and the longest in 20 years.
> Germany have now failed to beat Korea in their last three competitive encounters drawing 3-3 at the 2008 Olympic Games, losing 5-3 at the 2009 Champions Trophy and drawing 2-2 at the 20101 World Cup.
> Korea led 2-0 at half-time. The last time GER were at least 2 goals behind at half-time in a World Cup match was in the 1994 Bronze medal match against AUS (4-0), which ended 5-2.
> Florian Fuchs scored his eighth international goal in only his eighth appearance for the German National team.

Game 6 – Netherlands v. Argentina: 3-0 (half-time: 2-0)

Argentina, the last of 12 nations to qualify for the Hero Honda FIH 2010 World Cup by winning the World Cup Qualification tournament at home in Quilmes, opened the competition against triple World Cup winners The Netherlands. The Dutch were immediately all over the South Americans, missing a few early goals after some fancy combinations, but Klaas VERMEULEN finally earned a penalty-corner in the 13th minute after a swift pass from Teun DE NOOIJER and Taeke TAEKEMA powered his drag-flick under the crossbar to open the scoring.

New Zealand v. Canada 3:2 (1:2)
CAN 1mn Mark PEARSON (FG) 0:1
NZL 11mn Priyesh BHANA (FG) 1:1
CAN 20mn Philip WRIGHT (FG) 1:2
NZL 47mn Nicholas HAIG (PC) 2:2
NZL 66mn Ryan ARCHIBALD (FG) 3:2

Germany v. Korea 2:2 (0:2)
KOR 4mn Hye Sung HYUN (PC) 0:1
KOR 15mn Nam Yong LEE (FG) 0:2
GER 50mn Florian FUCHS (FG) 1:2
GER 58mn Benjamin WESS (FG) 2:2

Netherlands v. Argentina 3:0 (2:0)
NED 13mn Taeke TAEKEMA (FG) 1:0
NED 35mn Taeke TAEKEMA (FG) 2:0
NED 61mn Taeke TAEKEMA (FG) 3:0

Michelle: A belle with golf balls

COMMENT
By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my

THE Malaysian Prime Minister and his deputy loves it, and so does a stunning 20-year-old six-footer, a sex-maniac, portly businessmen and people from all walks of life who drive their own cars, but have a driver when they are on the greens.
For those who are in love with golf, it is life, and somehow, the passion to hit a small ball into 18 holes makes them go gaga, and they would dream abut the next game right after signing in their score cards.
They are no nut cases, as the industry is worth billions, what with 200 golf course in a small country like Malaysia, which dwarfs the number of hockey and football stadiums.
Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Anthony Kang, Gerrry Norquist, Lee Westwood; are just a small number of top golfers who have played and won in Malaysia.
The Malaysian Open has never failed to attract a stream of stars, and many winners have then gone on to become house-hold names like Lee Westwood and Vijay Singh.
And with Sime Darby, golf is being raised to an even higher plateau in a country that has yet to produce a Malaysian Open champion, and is still struggling to beat Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia at the Sea Games level.
Sime Darby has renovated the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Course from a drab and tired looking venue to an exciting marvel which will be tested to the limit beginning Thursday when it hosts the Malaysian Open.
And after that the KLGCC’s resilience will be tested by the best 50 Ladies PGA members, which includes Michelle Wie.
She is only 20-years-old, six feet one inch tall, and has started to make an impact in the LPGA.
Wie made her rushed presence felt at the Sime Darby Convention centre in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, where she flew in from Singapore after finishing joint-15th with a four-under 284 (72-73-69-70).
After a little rest, she was whizzed to the Convention Centre to confirm her attendance in the inaugural LPGA leg of Malaysia in October.
When a journalist asked her how she felt being in Malaysia for the first time, the Hawaiian-born said she only saw the route from her hotel to the press conference venue, but she loved the way buildings intermingled with pockets of greenery.
A frenzy of photographers were waiting for the long-legged beauty to swing, and she actually teed-off from a specially built platform outside the Sime Darby Convention centre.
She carried the ball just a few feet away from the photographers lenses, over a busy road, and about 260 yards into the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club greens.
She them exclaimed: “Oh my, I felt like I was going to hit one of you! (the photographers). But there was never a doubt, among the crowd, that Wie was going to misfire.
She then obliged autograph hunters, and left a lasting impression when she was whizzed to the airport for a long flight back home.
And at her official website, her introduction said: “She decide she wanted to become a pro-golfer after watching Tiger Woods play. Wie has pictures of Tiger all over her bedroom and also hopes to go to Stanford University, just like Tiger...