AMSTELVEEN, Netherlands, 10 July 2006 — The Netherlands beat Germany 3-1 yesterday to lead the table after the second day of the Women’s Champions Trophy field hockey.
China defeated Argentina 3-1, while Australia’s match against New Zealand ended scoreless. Neither team has scored so far in the six-nation tournament.
The Netherlands, the two-time defending champion, has four points from two matches, followed by China, Argentina and Germany with three points each. Australia has two and New Zealand one. Germany’s Janine Beermann scored a field goal in the 10th minute, but the Dutch leveled two minutes later with a penalty corner from Maartje Paumen. Sylvia Karres and Ellen Hoog boosted the Dutch to a 3-1 victory.
Karres conjured Netherlands third goal 20 minutes into the second half, carrying through the left to penetrate Germany’s circle and tap back to Ellen Hoog to drive into goal from point blank range. “My players finished Germany’s premier league last weekend, we have had two days together before this tournament and they are fatigued,” complained Weise.
Lammers was more upbeat, though.
“I was happy with the way we played today, keeping possession under pressure better than against Australia yesterday,” he said.
Earlier in the day, fifth-ranked China pulled off a 3-1 upset win over more-fancied Argentina.
The Chinese attack twice caught the number two side’s defense napping in the first quarter to score two goals from quick free hits outside the circle.
Wang Fen Zhou picked up a free hit in the circle for a backstick push into the open goal, then Ye Ren got the last touch as she scrambled the ball over the line for the second goal. Yi Bo Ma converted China’s third penalty corner of the half with a low flick past Argentine goalkeeper Mariela Antoniska to secure a 3-0 lead into the break. After the break, Alejandra Gulla scored Argentina’s only goal from a free hit by Aymar outside the circle, slamming high into the net from eight meters.
China coach Chang Back Kim said while his side concentrated on their game plan in the first half, Argentina seemed to lose their way.
“We also played man-to-man defense on Argentina’s good players to put pressure on Argentina and it allowed us time to attack,” he said. Argentine counterpart Gabriel Minadeo said his players lacked concentration and their opponents were quick to exploit their mistakes. “We knew what we had to do but we did not do it,” he said. “We will look at the videos, find our errors and do better in the next match (against Germany on Tuesday).”
