World No. 1 Australia qualified for the final when it
beat host New Zealand 2-1 in its last preliminary match on Saturday to remain
unbeaten at the tournament. Spain beat the Netherlands 3-1 to earn the other
finals berth.
New Zealand and the Netherlands will now meet Sunday in
the bronze medal playoff, while Britain and Germany will contest fifth place,
and Pakistan and South Korea will compete for seventh.
Australia qualified for a record 13th final, winning
five-straight matches in Auckland to extend its winning streak at the Champions
Trophy to 13 matches. The world champion will now attempt to win the tournament
for the 11th time.
Des Abbott scored a lucky goal in the 14th minute
Saturday to give Australia a 1-0 lead, sending a a cross into the area which
was going wide of goal before deflecting off the stick of a New Zealand
defender.
New Zealand hit back four minutes from halftime when Nick
Wilson won a penalty corner that was slotted home by Andrew Hayward. The goal
was Hayward's third at the tournament and his seventh in Champions Trophy
matches, a record for a New Zealander.
Eddie Ockenden scored Australia's winner in the 58th
minute and in similar circumstances to its first goal, putting in a cross that
was deflected into the goal by a defender.
Spain continued its remarkable return to form with a 3-1
win over the Netherlands, qualifying for the Champions Trophy final for the
first time since 2008.
Goals from Edi Tubau, Roc Oliva and Gabriel Dabanch
clinched a win for Spain, which has improved dramatically since its sixth place
finish at the EuroHockey Nations Championships last summer.
Spain took the lead inside two minutes through Tubau and
added a second in the 25th minute when Santi Freixa set up Oliva who touched
the ball over the goalkeeper's pads.
The Netherlands pulled a goal back just before halftime
through Bob de Voogd but were denied an equalizer by the goalkeeping of
Francisco Cortes, who made saves from Rogier Hofman and Jeroen Hertzberger.
The decisive goal came in the 51st minute when Jose
Carlos Ballbe worked his way into the circle from the right and set up the
easiest of tap-ins for Jorge Dabanch.
Germany beat Pakistan 5-0 and Britain beat South Korea
4-3 after trailing 1-0 at half time to qualify for the playoff for fifth.
Earlier, Australia captain Jamie Dwyer fought off
competition from Ockenden, German duo Moritz Furste and Max Muller and
three-time winner Teun de Nooijer of the Netherlands to win the FIH Player of
the Year award.
It was Dwyer's fifth award, following wins in 2004, 2007,
2009 and 2010 and the 32-year-old attacker has now won the annual award two
times more than any other male player in history.
