Moenchengladbach: World champions Germany beat Spain on penalties and Australia saw off a plucky South Korea in Friday's World Cup semi-finals to set up a repeat of the 2002 final on Sunday.
Germany goalkeeper Ulrich Bubolz saved three Spanish penalty flicks, thrilling the noisy, 12,000-strong home crowd after regular time had ended with the team's locked at 2-2 and neither had managed a golden goal in 15 minutes of extra time.
Earlier, Olympic champions Australia beat Korea 4-2 despite trailing twice. "It was a superb night for German hockey and a fantastic crowd which was a huge support for our young team," Germany coach Bernhard Peters said at a news conference. "We have a good chance in the final as we have a strong defensive line as you saw and we beat Australia the last two times we played them," he added.
European champions Spain began more brightly than the hosts but it was Germany who drew first blood, with Bjoern Emmerling cleverly turning in the ball in the 20th minute. Spain hit back less than 10 minutes later when the dangerous Santiago Freixa fired the ball through Bubolz's legs from a penalty corner for 1-1.
In the second half, Germany retook the lead after Moritz Fuerste deflected the ball low into the goal but the advantage lasted barely a minute as Alex Fabregas roofed a loose ball to get Spain back on level terms.
Spain coach Maurits Hendriks said his team's performance had been one of the best during his tenure but had failed to take advantage of the seven penalty corners they were awarded compared with only one for Germany.
"They know they are good enough to win the tournament but that's not to be," he said, adding that he was confident the team had what it took to beat Korea in the third-place playoff on Sunday.
Cautious Start
After a cautious start from both teams in the earlier match, the speedy Koreans took the lead shortly before halftime, Jong Hyun Jang flicking the ball high and powerfully into the net at a penalty corner.
The game came alive at the start of the second half, with Australia levelling through captain Bevan George and South Korea then restoring their advantage with a fine solo effort from Seong Jung Kang. Australia's Travis Brooks slid home an equaliser after a well-worked corner and then Jamie Dwyer sneaked in at the back post to make it 3-2 with 10 minutes left. Michael McCann added another with just seconds on the clock for 4-2.
Australia coach Colin Batch said his team had gained courage as the match progressed after a tentative start. "We're well positioned in the recovery stage tomorrow and we'll definitely be well prepared physically for Sunday," he said. Germany beat Australia 2-1 in the 2002 final in Kuala Lumpur.
Comments
0 comment