Lausanne, Switzerland, July 3:Netherlands stormed their way to the top of Pool A
after a 3-1 win over Germany, while India and England had an exciting 1-1 draw
in Pool B play. Belgium took down South Africa 4-1 with double goals from each
of Stephanie vanden Borre and Charlotte Englebert. Pool C saw an impressive
performance from Canada but Korea found responses to come back and take the
game 3-2, while Argentina blasted Spain 4-1.
Favourites Netherlands and Argentina
sit atop their respective pools with two wins, while with only one game played
each in Pool B and Pool D it’s still anyone’s game.
Belgium v
South Africa (Pool D)
It was a game of penalty corners
as four of five goals in the game came off set pieces as Belgium took their
opening game in pool D play 4-1 over South Africa. Despite the score margin the
Red Panthers had 15 penalty corners in the game to South Africa’s three.
Stephanie vanden Borre put in two penalty corner goals in the second quarter to
give Belgium a cushion. Belgium retained most of the possession but couldn’t
find a way in free play past South African keeper Phumelela Mbande.
South Africa had few attacks but
were able to garner a penalty corner in the 24th minute after a fast break.
Almost catching Belgium by surprise, the ball was very quickly slapped down the
pipe and Jean-Leigh du Toit’s shot beat Aisling D’hooghe between the pads to
cut Belgium’s lead in half. It was a small resolve though as Belgium still
dominated the second half. Credit to Mbande who continued to stymie waves of
attack including several penalty corners and a stunner of a back-hand from
Charlotte Englebert.
Englebert was on fire in the
fourth quarter and she buried a penalty corner variation after injecting the
ball to make it 3-1 in the 53rd minute. More penalty corners rained on South
Africa including a rebound attempt from vanden Borre that rang the left-hand
post. Late in the game a bit of pressure on Lisa-Marie Deetlefs forced a
turnover at the stroke mark right to the stick of Englebert but Mbande slid out
to create congestion. In the dying minutes, eventual player of the match,
Englebert, was there to blast in a rebound for a fourth goal in the 57th
minute. The 4-1 win gave Belgium the three points they needed to start their
tournament on a high.
“We are really happy,” said
captain vanden Borre after the match. “It was our first goal of the tournament
to get the three points so now on to the next one. We need some more energy for
the full 60 minutes to keep on playing forward.”
England v
India (Pool B)
It was an action-packed opening
game for England and India who drew 1-1 in Poll B play. India had a penalty
corner in the opening minute but the England rushers were up to the task. While
India seemed to put a little more attacking pressure, it was England who were
first on the board. A quick rush down the right side allowed Lily Owsley to
feed Isabelle Petter in traffic. The ball came across the circle in the air and
Petter’s reaching touch effortlessly redirected the ball into the mesh for a
1-0 England lead. India didn’t seemed phase as they responded with a penalty
corner in the other end. Kaur Gurjit flicked high stick side and the ball
pinged off the post but eventually ended in a re-award. Shona McCallin was
there to clear the second attempt.
India came out in the second
quarter again with attacking pressure as Kaur Gurjit’s penalty corner delivery
flew just under the stick of injector Kaur Navneet in the opening moments.
Sophie Hamilton then forced a save out of Indian keeper Savita only to see the end-to-end
play continue with an Indian barck-hand shot flying high and wide of the
England goal. Finally, India were able to deservingly find their equalizer. A
penalty corner strike from Monika was saved by the stick of a sprawling Maddie
Hinch and Katariya Vandana was there to flick in the rebound and level the game
before half time.
It was a quiet third quarter with
England holding most of the attack and possession, but Savita was not required
in action. Just before the third-quarter hooter though, India had a ball
bouncing in the circle and some quality footwork allowed Neha to one-time blast
the ball on her back-hand but Maddie Hinch made the save.
England continued to dominate but
were unable to generate a quality chance on goal. India had fewer chances but
looked just as dangerous. A bouncing ball beat Hinch and was on target for a
wide open Sonika but the ball hit her in the 57th minute. England thought they
had a penalty corner in the final minute but a video referral overturned it.
The game remained equal 1-1, a deserving score line as both keepers were
superb.
Isabelle Petter was named player
of the match and said commented after the game: ‘It was always a tough first
game against India. They’re a class side. We were happy with the draw would
have wanted the win but happy to take the point and on to the next game now.
We’ve got a rest day tomorrow and then we will focus on our next game against
China.’
Korea v
Canada (Pool C)
All of the action were in the
first and last minutes of the game as Canada and Korea traded goals with two
goals in each of the opening two minutes and final three minutes. Despite
playing in their own end for a lot of the match, it was Korea that came out
with the 3-2 victory to serve heartbreak to the Canadians.
Korea wasted no time earning a
penalty corner in the first 30 seconds of the game as pressure forced Natalie
Sourisseau to clear the ball high into her teammate. Kim Minji flick rocketed
just above the backboard, stick high of Canadian keeper Rowan Harris, to give
the Koreans a 1-0 lead. A minute later Canada was able to respond. A high
aerial from Karli Johanssen was mishandled by the Korean defence allowing
Brienne Stairs to pounce on it. Stairs fed the ball cleverly to Maddie Secco,
who showed great composure to curl and bury the ball for the equalizer. Canada
weathered two more Korean penalty corners in the opening quarter and then the
WolfPack found themselves at the other end, earning a penalty corner after a
video referral. Johanssen’s flick was swatted away by the glove of Lee Jinmin.
Canada continued to pressure and
almost found the go-ahead when a back-hand cross from Sourisseau just skipped
under the diving stick of Hannah Haughn at the back post in the 21st minute.
Korea, who seemed docile for most of the opening moments, found some attacking
strides and captain Eunbi Cheon had a reverse-stick blast that was saved well
from close range by Harris.
It was a calm third quarter with
a few penalty corner chances and some stingy defensive work in both ends. It
wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Korea nabbed the lead. Seona Kim showed
some brilliant composure in the circle to receive and blast one from close
range past Harris after some superb transition through midfield. Canada striker
Stairs turned up the heat through the final moments of game earning Canada an
important penalty corner with under five minutes to go. Johanssen’s flick was
saved on the post by Jungeun Seo but the play resulted in a re-award. This time
Canada unleashed a brilliant set piece slip to Sara McManus and then in to the
deserving Stairs, whose deflection tied the game 2-2.
Hard work from Eunbi Cheon tied
up Harris in the Canadian circle and Jungeun Seo was there to tap the ball into
the empty goal to end any further Canadian momentum. Canada had another penalty
corner denied by Korea and then a back-hand shot by Jordyn Faiczak but they
just could not find the equalizer. Korea hung on to their 3-2 lead to climb
past Canada in Pool B play.
Following the game Seona Kim
said: ‘We couldn’t have won that game without all the players on the team. We
will try our best in every moment. We don’t know what is going to happen to
next but we will try our best. We have three more days so if there are any
issues or errors we will try our best to sort those out until then.’
Germany v
Netherlands (Pool A)
The Netherlands soared to the top
of Pool A after a 3-1 victory over Germany. Despite the score line it was a
very tight match up until the final 12 minutes of the game. There was never
going to be any doubt about the pace and class that would be on display between
Germany (WR: 5) and Netherlands (WR: 1). It was equally special for Frederique
Matla who celebrated her 100th international on home soil.
The Netherlands got off to their
usual fiery start showcasing their size and strength on the ball to keep German
keeper Julia Sonntag on her toes. In the 13th minute Marloes Keetels ran the
left baseline and her cross was stopped by Selin Oruz but the ball bounced back
to Keetels who paced it under Julia Sonntag for the opening goal. The Dutch
should have gone up 2-0 when Lidewij Welten spun her check in midfield and then
brilliantly fed Laurien Leurik. With all the time in the world it was
unimaginable that Leurik’s shot could blast wide but it was to the relief of
Sonntag.
Chances were again few and far
between in the second quarter but it was Germany Lena Micheel who blasted a
ball on target for a sliding Hannah Granitzki but they couldn’t connect.
Germany also had a chance when Charlotte Stapenhorst earned a back-hand
shot that was then denied by Dutch keeper Josine Koning. Corners happened in
both ends but the first runners, Kira Horn for Germany and Margot van Geffen
for the Netherlands, showed some fearless defensive efforts.
Finally, in the 48th minute, a
nifty pass from Welten gave space for Freeke Moes to one-time the ball in and
lift the Dutch 2-0. You could see the momentum break in favour of the Oranje
and then Maria Verschoor was there to tap in a rebound to make it 3-0 just two
minutes later. Horn did well to earn Germany a late penalty corner and Die
Danas made no mistake. Sonja Zimmerman slipped the ball wide to Nike Lorenz,
whose low flick broke the shutout of Koning. The Germans pulled their
goalkeeper in the final minutes but couldn’t overcome the Dutch power. The 3-1
victory lift the Dutch to the top of Pool A.
“It was a really battlefield,”
said Marloes Keetels, named Player of the Match. “We had to fight for every
ball just like the Germans did. Maybe it is because we are neighbours that our
games are always hard but it was a nice match to play.”
Spain v
Argentina (Pool C)
There was no shortage of passion
and pride on the line as Argentina and Spain were scoreless through the opening
39 minutes of play. Los Leonas finally found their strides late in the third
quarter and eventually took the game 4-1 over the hosts.
Both teams had penalty corner
chances in the get-going as Agustina Gorzelany had her first flick saved by the
glove of Melanie Garcia in the eighth minute of play. Julieta Jankunas batted
the rebound above her head towards goal but just as brilliantly Clara Ycart cleared
it out of the air and away from trouble. Spain’s Xantal Gine had a penalty
corner flick less than a minute later, but her shot went high and wide of the
Argentine goal.
Argentina thought they had the
opening goal with two seconds left in the first quarter as a penalty corner
delivery from Valentina Costa was deflected in my Eugenia Trinchinetti. A good
use of the self-referral saw Scotland umpire Sarah Wilson overturn the corner
as the ball didn’t come out of the circle. Argentina had more penalty corner
chances including a rebound attempt from Maria Granatto where she popped it up
and then tried to bat it over her head and in but the ball went just wide of
the goal.
Spain’s best chance came in the
third quarter when a hard pass into the Argentine circle was deflected
perfectly to Lucia Jimenez. With only keeper Belen Succi to beat, Jimenez just
couldn’t find a way past the stacked pads. Moments later it was Jimenez, this
time in the Spanish circle, who fouled Maria Granatto to force a penalty stroke
for Argentina. Gorzelany made no mistake burying it glove side, high on Garcia
for the opening goal. Less than a minute later and Oliva’s stick foul on a
charging Agustina Albertarrio put the Leonas back at the top of the circle.
This time, Valentina Raposo’s straight hit at goal ricocheted under and off the
pads of Garcia to make it 2-0 for Argentina.
The goals kept coming as
Gorzelany unleashed one of her best flicks of recent months, beating Garcia
high stick side with mind-blowing precision and pace for a 3-0 Argentina lead.
Spain turned some gears on and, with Agostina Alonso off with a yellow card,
were able to get on the board. Begoña Garcia finished on a penalty corner to
leave Spain trailing 3-1. With 20 seconds to go, Maria Granatto got the slightest
of touches on a Gorzelany drag flick to seal the game 4-1.
Following the game, Gorzelany,
now with four goals in the tournament, said: “It was a really tough game. At
the beginning it was really close. They were defending their best to not allow
us to enter but soring the stroke we opened the game. We were then more relaxed
and then we got the penalty corner and I think we deserved the win. It was
beautiful to see so many Argentina fans in the crowd here in Spain.”
There is a rest day tomorrow,
Monday 4 July, and then the action in the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup
continues on Tuesday 5 July. At the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Pool A’s
Ireland will play Chile at 14:00, followed by Pool B’s India and China at
16:30, and Pool B’s New Zealand vs England at 19:30.
At the Estadi Olimpic de Terrasa
in Spain, Pool D’s Japan plays South Africa at 18:00, followed by Belgium
playing Australia (Pool D) at 21:30.
Check out the pool standings here.
Pool A: Netherlands,
Germany, Ireland, Chile
Pool B: England, New
Zealand, India, China
Pool C: Argentina, Spain,
Korea, Canada
Pool D: Australia, Belgium,
Japan, South Africa
FIH Hockey Women's World Cup
Spain & Netherlands 2022
3 July
2022 Results
Estadi
Olimpic de Terrasa (ESP)
Match #7
Belgium 4, South Africa 1
Player of the Match: Charlotte
Englebert (BEL)
Umpires: Catalina Montesino
(CHI), Hannah Harrison (ENG), Sarah Wilson (SCO-reserve), Alison Keogh
(IRL-video)
Wagener
Hockey Stadium, Amstelveen (NED)
Match #8
England 1, India 1
Player of the Match: Isabelle
Petter (ENG)
Umpires: Annelize Rostron (RSA),
Irene Presenqui (ARG), Kang Hyun Young (KOR-reserve), Wanri Venter (RSA-video)
Estadi
Olimpic de Terrasa (ESP)
Match #9
Korea 3, Canada 2
Player of the Match: Seo Jungeun
(KOR)
Umpires: Michele Meister (GER), Kelly
Hudson (NZL), Cookie Tan (SGP-reserve), Ayanna McClean (TTO-video)
Wagener
Hockey Stadium, Amstelveen (NED)
Match #10
Germany 1, Netherlands 3
Player of the Match: Marloes
Keetels (NED)
Umpires: Aleisha Neumann (AUS),
Laurine Delforge (BEL), Emi Yamada (JPN-reserve), Ivona Makar (CRO-video)
Estadi
Olimpic de Terrasa (ESP)
Match #11
Spain 1, Argentina 4
Player of the Match: Maria
Granatto (ARG)
Umpires: Sarah Wilson
(SCO), Alison Keogh (IRL), Catalina Montesino (CHI-reserve), Cookie Tan
(SGP-video)
FIH Press release
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