Belgium vs Korea 2-1 (0-0 half-time)
Cedric Charlier’s sparkling goal handed Belgium their first win of
the Olympic Games Pool B, putting a major dampener on Korea’s hopes of
reaching the final four. It came in the final quarter after Hyun Woo
Nam’s penalty corner had cancelled out Tom Boon’s opener 90 seconds into
the second half.
Plenty of late drama ensued as three yellow cards were
dished out in the final minute and Vincent Vanasch was forced to save a
series of shots in a final flurry of action. Holding on for the win, it
pushes Belgium up to fourth in the standings with New Zealand and India
to play. Jerome Dekeyser produced the highlight of the first half with a
rasping strike that crashed against the inside of the post, agonisingly
rebounding across the face of goal in the sixth minute.
It was a half that promised much but goalmouth chances were at a
premium. The second half was those come in abundance, the first
ballooning Tom Boon’s way from a crash ball and he swung out a volley
that delicately wrong-footed Myung Ho Lee from a tight angle. Nam
levelled with a low corner drive but his side will rue their inability
to capitalise further from their volume of corners in the latter stages.
Number one Jerome Truyens blocked one spectacularly while a couple went
off target to keep Belgium on terms.
Alexandre de Saedeleer did similarly well to pressurise
Kang Moon Kweon who somehow manages to screw a close range shot wide in
the 56thminute. It proved a
huge let-off as, soon after, Charlier scored the goal which had the
Belgian fans singing down the Olympic walkway. He had already beaten a
couple of defenders before his shimmy wrong-footed another couple,
finding the space to roof a sweep-shot on the dive over Myung Ho Lee’s
shoulder.
They had to live on their wits for the closing ten minutes as Jeffrey
Thys, Xavier Reckinger and Nam Yong Lee all saw yellow while Oh Dae
Keun – on his 100th cap – and Cha Jong Bok drew saves from Vanasch for a big win for the lowlanders.
(Stephen Findlater)
Germany overwhelmed India to cruise to a comfortable 5-2 win.
They were immediately threatening and PR Sreejesh, in the Indian goal
today, was called into action in the opening minute. Both teams seemed
inspired and willing to play attacking hockey, and India had a good
chance when SV Sunil ran the whole length of the pitch and delivered a
perfect cross that just eluded Shivendra Singh in front of the German
goal.
Florian Fuchs drew first blood in the 8th minute when
he pounced on a loose ball in the circle, turn swiftly and beat PR
Sreejesh from close range. Sandeep Singh had a chance on penalty-corner
soon after but his low flick was well handled by Max Weinhold in the
German goal. Germany managed to keep the fast Indian attackers at bay
until the 13th minute, when a penalty-corner taken by VR Raghunath
cleanly beat Weinhold. The German response was immediate and they
re-established their lead, once again by Florian Fuchs, coolly batting
in goal a high rebound from the Indian goalkeeper.
Germany took control of play, circulating the ball around the Indians
in midfield, and PR Sreejesh needed to stand tall, but he could not
prevent a third goal by Oliver Korn, lodging the ball in the roof of the
net from a narrow angle. The Indians seemed deflated by this additional
goal, as well as overwhelmed by the constant pressure applied by
Germany on their midfield, and Germany scored a fourth goal before
half-time by Christopher Wesley, putting the fate of the match somewhat
out of doubt.
Florian Fuchs completed his hat-trick in the first
minute of second period and things were starting to look seriously bleak
for India. They had a chance on penalty-corner but Max Weinhold once
again read well the flick by Sandeep Singh, not looking at his best
since the beginning of the competition. India had a good reaction
mid-way through the period but could not increase their tally, even on
another penalty-corner, weakly executed.
India scored a second goal by Tushar Khandker and seemed to wake up
in the final minutes, but it was too little too late and Germany
controlled the end of the match, cruising to a comfortable win (5-2),
their third win in so many matches, to join The Netherlands at the top
of Pool B, leaving India still pointless in the competition.
(Yan Huckendubler)
Netherlands vs. New Zealand: 5-1 (half-time: 3-1)
New Zealand started with a bang, Simon Child opening
the scoring within 5 minutes of play to give an early lead to the Kiwis.
Sander De Wijn thought that he had equalized in the next play when he
deflected in goal a Teun De Nooijer shot that was going wide, but the
video-referral showed that he had played the ball with a high stick and
the goal was denied.
On a penalty-corner earned by Robbert Kemperman in the 15th minute
after a long run through defenders, Roderick Weusthof’s flick was well
saved by Kyle Pontifex in goal for New Zealand but a stroke was given on
the play and Weusthof did not miss his second chance to tie the score
at 1-1.
Play was fast and physical between these two athletic
teams, and Billy Bakker earned another penalty-stroke, this time
converted by Mink Van Der Weerden to put The Netherlands back on top.
The Dutch deepened the gap soon after by Billy Bakker, on hand to
deflect in goal a shot by Rogier Hofman who had just run 50 meters with
defenders on his heels. The Netherlands had another chance to score on a
last second penalty-corner, but the wild goalmouth scramble was finally
cleared and the score stayed at 3-1 for The Netherlands going into the
break.
New Zealand were again fast of the block in second period and had a
chance by Stephen Jenness, but Jaap Stockmann in the Dutch goal was
ready for his sudden shot. Play became more structured, with each team
enjoying longer periods of ball possession to develop their attacks and
produce exciting end to end hockey. Jenness had another golden
opportunity when he received a cross from Simon Child alone in front of
the keeper but he could not adjust his reverse stick shot.
Billy Bakker did not waste the next chance at the other
end when he received a deep ball at full speed to score his second goal
of the match, establishing a seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead for The
Netherland. Robbert Kemperman added a fifth and final goal and The
Netherlands rolled in to their third win in so many matches to stay on
top of pool B.
