Final Standings (Women)
1.Netherlands
2.China
3.Argentina
4.Germany
5.Australia
6.G.Britain
7.Spain
8.USA
9.Korea
10.Japan
11.S.Africa
12.N.Zealand

Germany men win Gold in Beijing
23 Aug 2008 05:32
 

An early penalty corner goal from Christopher Zeller was enough to take the German men to a 1-0 win over Spain and put the Gold around their necks in the final match of the Olympic hockey tournament in Beijing.

Australia took the Bronze medal with a stunning 6:2 win over The Netherlands. Eddie OCKENDEN was the star of the show, scoring two and setting up another as The Kookaburras cruised to victory.

Earlier in the day, Great Britain surprisingly took fifth place by scoring five second half goals against Korea, with forward Jonty CLARKE scoring a brace of field goals. Other strikes came from the sticks of Barry MIDDLETON, Ashley JACKSON, and Glenn KIRKHAM. The Chinese team delighted the home crowd by grabbing a dramatic win over South Africa in extra-time to finish 11th in this Olympic competition.

Gold Medal Match
Germany defeat Spain 1:0 (1:0) 

Emulating the Dutch women who took the Olympic Gold in Beijing as World Champions, the German men today wrestled victory in the final from rivals Spain to pronounce themselves Olympic Champions. 

Both teams started by playing low intensity hockey, Germany knocking the ball around on risk-free trajectories while Spain was happy to leave them to it, patiently waiting for their opportunities.

A 16th minute penalty corner changed all that however, as Christopher Zeller powered a cracking flick under the crossbar to give his team the lead, putting all the pressure on Spain.

Spain coped well, shifting a gear up and gaining momentum as time progressed. They looked extremely threatening as the break approached but were unable to get on the scoreboard before halftime interrupted their efforts.

In the second half, Spain kept attacking but still failed to break down the rock solid German defence. Dominating open play for much of the second half, they were faced with a clock ticking down relentlessly, the pressure ever increasing, and a German wall that just didn't give way.

Late in the half, with Spain getting frustrated and desperate in equal measures, Germany even had more chances than Spain who seemed to be repelled by the German goal and circle, and losing Sergi Enrique to a yellow card didn't help the Iberians.

Germany held their lead down to the final whistle with an amazing effort in defence, while the Spanish played a great game but entirely lacked the finishing touch.

This win confirms Christopher Zeller as a big match player - taking Germany to Olympic glory with his one goal today, when two years ago, it was him as well who led the Germans to their World Cup title.

For German striker Florian Keller it is also a special moment: he adds his Gold to the four that are already in the family, with his grandfather, father, brother and sister all having been Olympic Gold medallists.

Germany - Spain 1:0 (1:0)
GER Christopher ZELLER (PC) 16min

Bronze Medal Match
Australia defeat The Netherlands 6:2 (4:2)

Australia took the Bronze medal with a stunning 6:2 win over The Netherlands. Eddie OCKENDEN was the star of the show, scoring two and setting up another as The Kookaburras cruised to victory.

The Bronze medal match exploded into life in the 5th minute when sensational youngster Eddie OCKENDEN scored two terrific close range goals in a thirty second period. It was 3:0 after nine minutes when Des ABBOTT - the other young superstar of the tournament - was released by Jamie DWYER before slapping the ball through the legs of Guus VOGELS.

The Netherlands were completely stunned, but Teun de NOOIJER won a 12th minute penalty corner that was clinically dispatched by Taeke TAEKEMA, who showed no signs of reduced confidence following his vital penalty stroke miss in the semi-final against Germany.

Teun de NOOIJER pulled The Netherlands back to within one goal of Australia with a smart deflection only for Eli MATHESON to re-establish the two-goal cushion, tapping in a cross-shot from OCKENDEN.

Australia went even further ahead early in the second half when Rob HAMMOND caught a Netherlands player in possession, drove into the circle and cracked a reverse stick effort into the net.

With 13 minutes to go, The Netherlands won a penalty corner, giving TAEKEMA a chance to keep comeback hopes alive, but Stephen LAMBERT frustrated the tournament top scorer with a solid save. However, Australia's set piece expert Luke DOERNER had more success at the other end, flicking a ferocious effort just under the cross bar for a 6:2 lead. The goal was the final blow to The Netherlands, who could not recover.

For Australia, the Bronze medal will help to ease the disappointment at elimination at the hands of Spain.

The Netherlands - Australia 2:6 (2:4)
AUS Eddie OCKENDEN (FG) 5min
AUS Eddie OCKENDEN (FG) 6min
AUS Desmond ABBOTT (FG) 9min
NED Taeke TAEKEMA (PC) 12min
NED Teun de NOOIJER (FG) 27min
AUS Eli MATHESON (FG) 28min
AUS Rob HAMMOND (FG) 42min
AUS Luke DOERNER (PC) 62min

Classification 5th-6th
Great Britain defeat Korea 5:2 (0:0)

The proverbial 'game of two halfs' was played out between Korea and Great Britain. With the half time score at 0:0, the ball hit the back of the net on seven separate occasions in the second period, as GB ran out 5:2 winners to seal fifth place. Winger Jonty CLARKE grabbed a brace of field goals, with other strikes came from the sticks of Barry MIDDLETON, Ashley JACKSON, and Glenn KIRKHAM.

The first half was fairly uneventful, although there were chances for both sides to take the lead. Richard MANTELL had a good penalty corner effort acrobatically saved by Korean keeper Dong Sik KO, while Jong Hyun JANG seeing his PC shot saved well by Alistair McGREGOR in the GB goal.

It was an evenly contested game, but the lack of goals and genuine scoring chances gave no indication of what was to happen in the second half. Great Britain came out of the blocks quickest, and put some real pressure on the Korean goal. Eventually, the team got the breakthrough when Barry MIDDLETON passed into the goal from close range in the 44th minute.

The lead lasted less than four minutes, when Jong Hyun JANG slammed in a penalty corner, but Great Britain moved back in front a minute later when Ashley JACKSON scored a penalty stroke after Richard ALEXANDER had been cynically fouled. 2:1 became 3:1 when Jonty CLARKE scored the first of his two goals, diving full-length to touch in a cross from the left by Stphen DICK in the 54th minute.

CLARKE put the game beyond the reach of Korea in the 63rd minute, when he received a pass from Ashley JACKSON. With just the goalkeeper to beat, he moved to the left and passed into an empty net.

Hye Sung HYUN scored a penalty corner in the 67th minute before Glenn KIRKHAM’s massively deflected field goal secured a 5:2 victory for Great Britain.  


Korea – Great Britain 2:5 (0:0)
GBR Barry MIDDLETON (FG) 44min
KOR Jong Hyun JANG (PC) 48min
GBR Ashley JACKSON (PS) 49min
GBR Jonty CLARKE (FG) 54min
GBR Jonty CLARKE (FG) 63min
KOR Hye Sung HYUN (PC) 67min
GBR Glenn KIRKHAM (FG) 70min

Classification 11th-12th
China defeat South Africa: 4-3 aet (1-1)

The Chinese team delighted the home crowd by grabbing a dramatic win over South Africa in extra-time to finish 11th in this Olympic competition.

South Africa were first on the scoreboard with an opportunistic goal by Lungile TSOLEKILE, picking up the rebound from his first shot to slot it in goal. The remainder of the period was very intense, with plenty of chances for both sides often wasted by too much precipitation. The South African thought that they had successfully weathered the Chinese flurry of attacks when Yubo NA managed to put his stick on the ball in the middle of a goal mouth scramble and push it in goal to level the score going into the break.

The Chinese crowd faithfully and relentlessly pushed their team in second period and was rewarded when Captain Yi SONG connected on two penalty-corners in quick succession to give his team a seemingly insurmountable two-goal lead.

The deed seemed done at that point, with the exhausted South African players committing numerous unforced errors. But they somehow picked themselves up and found the resources to tie the game, first with a penalty-stroke converted by Ian SYMONS then a penalty-corner slotted out of reach of the Chinese keeper by Austin SMITH with a handful of seconds left on the clock, pushing the game into sudden death overtime.

The first period of overtime was played cautiously by both teams, with the threat of the Golden Goal hanging over the field. The game then suddenly opened up in the final stages. South Africa had an opportunity to grab the prize with a penalty-corner but, incredibly, could not control this golden chance. China immediately earn a penalty-corner of their own at the other end, and Yi SONG delivered his team and the crowd with a master strike for his third goal of the game, his seventh of the competition.

This Chinese win, their first of the competition, is a just reward for a team that played an attractive brand of attacking hockey and was never outclassed by their more experienced opponents. South Africa, on the other end, can only be disappointed to leave with the wooden spoon, their worst Olympic finish after their 10th place in 1996 and 2004.

China – South Africa 4:3 aet (1 :1)
RSA  Lungile TSOLEKILE (FG) 3mn
CHN  Yubo NA (FG) 32mn
CHN  Yi SONG (PC) 53mn
CHN  Yi SONG (PC) 58mn
RSA  Ian SYMONS (PS) 63mn
RSA  Austin SMITH (PC) 70mn
CHN  Yi SONG (PC) 85mn (Golden Goal)

Netherlands women take Olympic Gold
22 Aug 2008 04:46

© FIH / Gordon Morrison

Earlier in the day, South Africa had handed down the wooden spoon to New Zealand with a convincing 4-1 win while Australia defeated Great Britain in a tight match for 5th place.

Gold Medal Match
Netherlands defeat China 2:0 (0:0)

The Netherlands, the favourites in this encounter despite good performances of the hosts in this event, took firm charge of the proceedings from the very start, pushing forward aggressively and creating scores of chances in a cracking contest.

They were unable to score in the first half though, which was both a surrpise and a frustrating experience for them - and to no player more so than Maartje Paumen, penalty corner superstar, who was denied on three occasions. China had to thank goalkeeper Zhang Yimeng to thank, who pulled a number of top class saves to maintain a half time shutout.

With the Netherlands having been the dominating force through much of the first half, things had changed markedly when the teams came back after the break - the two teams were now even, and China had a few opportunities of their own.

China did a fantastic job at blocking the Dutch efforts, counter-attacking at great pace, but halfway through the second half, Naomi van As finally scored for the Netherlands, to the great relief of her team mates. On a penalty corner, there seemed to be confusion at the top of the circle, but the ball was eventually pushed to the left for van As to slap across the line.

Now one goal behind, the home team threw everything they had forward, chasing the elusive equalizer, but to no avail: the Dutch were firmly in control, denying their opponents once and again before even raising the bar with a Maartje Goderie goal that practically took them to the finishing line.

The remaining minutes went by with China giving their all but the Dutch were quite simply a league of their own, as they have been throughout this tournament.

The Dutch women are thus now World and Olympic Champions, while China have won their first ever Olympic hockey medal. Having won seven of their seven matches in Beijing with a goal difference of 21:5, the title is undoubtedly deserved - Holland have been the best women's team in Beijing.

China - Netherlands 0:2 (0:0)
NED Naomi van AS (PC) 51min
NED Maartje GODERIE (FG) 62min

Bronze Medal Match
Argentina defeat Germany 3:1 (2:0)

Argentina had plenty to celebrate today, taking Olympic bronze in Luciana Aymar's 250th cap and Magdalena Aicega's 300th.

The Leonas came out blazing against a German team clearly still exhausted from their semi-final with China two days ago that forced them to go all out and beyond. They had an early string of chances including a handful of penalty corners, one of which yielded an early lead when Rosario Luchetti deflected a penalty corner rebound shot past German goalkeeper Kristina Reynolds.

The Germans were still taking their time getting their feet on the ground, and fell further behind when Carla Rebecchi extended the lead with a smart goal as an Alejandra Gulla shot was warded off to see the ball head for the out, but Rebecchi intervening to navigate it across the line and into the goal.

After the break, the Germans woke up and put steady pressure on the Argentinean defense to level the game. Twelve minutes into the half, they were rewarded with their first goal when Anke Kuehn volleyed a pass from Julia Müller into the goal from the edge of the circle.

The momentum was shifting, with the Germans taking charge of the game, but they were struggling to create scoring opportunities and paid the price for their lacking finishing touch when Noel Barrionuevo converted a penalty corner with a hard flick with a little more than 5 minutes on the clock, for all practical purposes taking her team out of reach.

The Argentine women celebrated their bronze medal with genuine elation, despite quite possibly having come to Beijing with higher aspirations, and they were congratulated by Diego Maradona on their effort, while the German girls were lying on the field exhausted and crying tears of disbelief and despair.

Germany - Argentina 1:3 (0:2)
ARG Rosario LUCHETTI (PC) 11min
ARG Carla REBECCHI (FG) 22min
GER Anke KUEHN (FG) 45min
ARG Noel BARRIONUEVO (PC) 63min

Classification 5th-6th
South Australia defeat Great Britain 2:0 (1:0)

In the blazing hot sun of Beijing this morning, Australia and Great Britain took to the field to play for fifth place. The match took time to kick into gear, with the teams trying to not give away too much too early and keen not too push the pace too soon in the soaring temperatures.

While the game struggled to gain any rhythm throughout the first half, Australia were able to take the lead late in the period during one of their rare spells of acceleration and seemed content to keep Great Britain under control the rest of the time.

The second half carried on in much the same vein, with both teams suffering from the heat and a lack of motivation after a long and exhausting tournament.

After the break, Great Britain seemed on the way up but struggled to create danger. When Sarah Thomas finally got the ball into the net, the Brits' celebrations were cut short by the video umpire disallowing the goal - a fate that was shared by the Hockeyroos who had a goal from Hope Munro called back in a similar fashion late in the game.

With little more than three minutes on the clock and still one goal down, the British took goalkeeper Beth Storry off the field with Crista Cullen playign kicking back in a last ditch effort to level the scores and force the game into extra time.

The plan backfired however, as it saw Australia score to plow on out of reach with their second goal, put away by Hope Munro. GB brought Beth Storry back and the last few seconds ticked down for Australia to take fifth place and confine Britain to sixth.

Australia - Great Britain 2:0 (1:0)
AUS Madonna BLYTH (FG) 29min
AUS Hope MUNRO (FG) 68min

Classification 11th-12th
South Africa defeat New Zealand 4:1 (2:1)

South Africa deservingly won the classification game for 11th-12th place with a convincing 4-1 win over New Zealand. They started the match with more purpose and, after Kate HECTOR found the crossbar on their first penalty-corner, opened the scoring in the 14th minute by Marsha MARESCIA, picking up the rebound on another Kate HECTOR’s flick.

New Zealand promptly leveled the score 3 minutes later by Gemma FLYNN deflecting the ball in goal from close range on a shot by Lizzy IGASAN, but Jennifer WILSON put her team back into the lead one minute before half-time when she deflected the ball in goal after an excellent preparation work by Vida RYAN who entered the circle, took a chance on goal and collected the rebound for another shot.

In second half, South Africa took full advantage of their numerical advantage after a yellow card to Krystal FORGESSON to score another goal by Vida RYAN after a quick exchange of passes with Kathleen TAYLOR. They pushed the score to 4-1 in the 59th minute by Cindy BROWN on penalty-corner.

South Africa upset the odds suggested by the respective rankings of the two teams in the World Rankings (8th for New Zealand, 12th for South Africa) to hand down the wooden spoon of the 2008 Olympic competition to a New Zealand team that was a shadow of itself in this game, possibly disheartened to be in this modest position after playing well during the competition but losing 4 of their 5 pool games by a one-goal margin.

South Africa – New Zealand 4:1 (2:1)
RSA  Marsha MARESCIA (PC) 14mn
NZL  Gemma FLYNN (PC) 17mn
RSA  Jennifer WILSON  (FG) 34mn
RSA  Vida RYAN (FG) 51mn
RSA  Cindy BROWN (PC) 59mn