LAHORE, 8 December 2004 — Defending champions Holland remained on course for a hat trick of Champions Trophy crowns and in the process dented Pakistan’s dream of regaining the coveted title on home soil here at the National Stadium yesterday.
Thousands of Pakistani fans watched in disbelief, as Holland pumped in three goals in the second half, beating Pakistan 4-1 for their third straight win in the elite six-nation tournament.
India brought themselves back into contention for a bronze medal when they recovered from a goal down to beat world champions Germany’s second string-team 3-1 while Spain remained on top of the points table with a 3-1 win against New Zealand.
Veteran Dutch skipper Jeroen Delmee, playing his 300th international, inspired his men to a commanding victory over the hosts that brought them closer to achieving a hat trick of Champions Trophy titles.
It was fitting to see Delmee, one of the architects of Holland’s rise to the top of world hockey in the 90s, score the final goal of the match.
While the Dutch looked set to book a place in Sunday’s final, Pakistan face an uphill climb.
They now have to beat unpredictable India and high-flying Spain and then hope the result of Holland and Spain’s remaining matches go in their favor if they are to realize their dream of playing in the final.
After two unconvincing wins over New Zealand and Germany, the greenshirts gave a much more organized display but were unable to capitalize on their chances.
Pakistan’s only goal of the match came through short corner specialist Sohail Abbas as all their frontline strikers squandered a series of scoring opportunities in both the sessions.
The most fatal error came in the 54th minute with Pakistan trailing 1-2 when striker Shakeel Abbasi got a perfect pass, beat Dutch goalie Guus Vogels but then produced a rash shot to send the ball flying over the bar.
“It was a costly mistake,” Pakistani skipper Waseem Ahmed later said. “It could have been a different story had Shakeel converted what was a simple chance.”
“We played our best game of the competition so far which is why it is sad to see us lose by such a big margin,” said Pakistan’s Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans.
Holland went ahead in the 15th minute when Ronald Brouwer drove one in on an assist from Floris Evers in the 15th minute.
Pakistan equalized four minutes later when Sohail converted his team’s first short corner with a drag flick that was good enough to beat the otherwise agile Guus. The first period ended at 1-1. Dutch short corner marksman Taeke Taekema, after two unsuccessful attempts in the first session, finally got lucky when his high flick made it 2-1 for Holland early in the second half.Sohail almost leveled scores in the 46th minute but his lightning flick was deflected by Guus, arguably the best goalkeeper in the world today.
Holland were unforgiving after Shakeel’s poor finish as they struck twice in the last five minutes through Karel Klaver and Delmee to humble their erratic opponents.
India lifted their spirits after two successive losses against Spain and Germany but not before facing some anxious moments against a young and inexperienced German side.
Germany led by a solitary goal till the 40th minute thanks to a first half strike by Jan-Marco Montag but were unable to contain the Indian attack when it mattered most.
Sundeep Michael equalized for India five minutes into the final session before Arjun Halappa scored with a stunning carpet drive from the top of the circle for a 2-1 lead. Youngster Vivek Gupta scored India’s third goal on a free hit from Sandeep Singh three minutes from the hooter. The victory comes as perfect tonic for India ahead of their eagerly-awaited clash against old rivals Pakistan today.
Pau Quemada helped Spain remain on top of the points table with a two-goal display in a 3-1 victory over New Zealand.
The Kiwis held Spain at 1-1 till the 45th minute but conceded two goals in the final quarter to remain without a point after three matches.
Spain were unable to score against a defiant New Zealand in the first session but came back strongly in the second period. Santiago Frexa also scored for them. New Zealand’s only goal came through Darren Smith off a short corner.
