Hockey Australia

by Hockey Australia.

After two rounds of the BDO Hockey Champions Trophy, the final rankings from the Olympic Games have reappeared, with the gold and silver medallists on top of the points table in Rosario.


Olympic champions Germany showed they didn’t leave their winning form in Greece after a 2-0 disposal of world number one Argentina in front of 8,000 spectators at the Jockey Club.

Germany’s performance was the pick of the day, with two well-taken second half goals silencing any doubts about their Athens success and giving them six points from two matches. They are joined on maximum points by Olympic silver medallists the Netherlands, who needed a pair of second half goals to overcome an improved Hockeyroos outfit.

While Germany took women’s hockey by surprise in Athens, they brought only half of their gold medal-winning squad to Rosario, raising doubts about their ability to produce a repeat performance at a second major international tournament within three months.

However coach Markus Weise has seamlessly introduced new squad members and kept his squad playing confident, winning hockey.

In tonight’s match, Germany withstood Argentina’s opening exchanges, with Marion Rodewald and Britta von Livonius marshalling their team’s compact defence. Luciana Aymar was her usual dynamic self in the Argentine midfield, but couldn’t penetrate the final line as Germany pushed players behind the ball.

The Dutch, as is the case with most teams in the tournament, have numerous changes from their Olympic line-up. Coach Marc Lammers has a new off-field staff to go with a rejuvenated playing roster which includes four members who are receiving their first taste of international hockey in the tournament.

They had to score two goals in the second half again to record the win after Australia took an early lead with Suzie Faulkner’s penalty corner rebound in the 11th minute. After Chantal de Briujn looped a penalty corner Australia’s net to level the score, Maartje Scheepstra’s scrambled goal in the 59th minute good enough to earn a 2-1 win.

The Hockeyroos looked more settled and assured of their passing and ball movement but still lacked some penetration and creativity to pierce the Netherlands’ strong defence.

The improved effort was enough to earn them their first competition point however and the six-time title winner sits at the foot of the table ahead of Tuesday’s critical clash with the home team in the marquee match to complete round three.

Hockeyroos coach David Bell was pleased that inexperienced members of his new-look squad are growing more comfortable at international level. Bell has given four players their first international caps in the past two days as the Hockeyroos rebuild from their Athens disappointment.

In the other match today, China and New Zealand drew 1-1, with both recording their first points after losses yesterday. Both teams have given the top two a significant advantage in the race for Sunday’s final, with results on Wednesday likely to eliminate one or more teams from gold medal contention.

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