Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-08-13 02:23:06

(BEIJING, August 12) — Argentina, the 2008 Hockey Champions Trophy winners, recorded their second draw in the competition as they continued to drop points at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on Tuesday. At the end of the second day of the Women’s competition, China, Australia and the Netherlands topped pool A while Germany topped Pool B, both with six points each.

Argentina’s road to the semifinals is becoming more difficult, after back-to-back 2-2 draws with USA and Great Britain. Argentina were 2-0 going into the break with goals from Agustina Garcia and Alejandra Gulla. Sarah Thomas and Mel Clewlow from Great Britain scored in the 49th and 51st minutes making use of their numerical advantage when Argentina had a player in the sin bin.

Angela Lambert and Nicole Hudson were instrumental in Australia’s 6-1 thrashing of Spain. Australia once again conceded an early goal, but they made use of their opportunities increasing their goal tally to 11 in two games. Spain has now lost both their matches and have conceded nine goals in the process.

The USA and Japan shared the spoils in an evenly contested match 1-1 with Chiba Kaori from Japan and Kate Barber from the United States scoring the goals for their side. The USA were unfortunate not to have won the game, after Barber’s late game shot hit the post. The draw was enough to put Japan in second place of pool B.

China beat South Africa 3-0, giving another strong performance that underlined their speed, fitness and aggression. Goals by Tang Chunling, Fu Baorong and Sng Qinling fashioned Chinese victory, their second in as many outings. South Africa played well and had their chances, but didn’t finish well.

Netherlands managed to fend off the Korean challenge with a hard fought 3-2 win in front of a stadium filled with the Dutch fans. Maartje Paumen was the star for Netherlands as she scored two goals from penalty corners. The Netherlands now share top place in pool A while Korea will have to hope for a miracle to go through to the semifinals.

Germany scored twice in the last 11 minutes for a 2-1 win against New Zealand. New Zealand contested the decision of the umpires on Germany’s first goal, but were disappointed not to have it overruled following a referral to the video umpire. The win puts Germany on top of pool B with six points while New Zealand is rooted at the bottom of the pool without a point.