Germany produced a scintillating second half display to fully merit their final berth, finding their most fluid hockey of the tournament to gain a modicum of revenge on Australia. Trailing 2-1 after 43 minutes, Germany bossed Australia in a manner unseen in the tournament to date with Matthias Witthaus, Timo Wess and Florian Fuchs picking off a trio of delightfully crafted goals.

Pre-match, the European side came in with plenty of scores to settle, chief among them the 2010 World Cup final defeat and they appeared to initially cope well with the Aussies’ forceful, high press. Christopher Zeller looked in the mood. His powerful run left Joel Carroll in his wake while Kieran Govers and Matthew Swann also attempt to stall his run.

It sent the striker sprawling with a corner initially given before the video review confirmed the foul took place outside the circle. But he was the first to have a drag at goal as friendly fire clattered Matthew Butturini’s foot. Nathan Burgers stopped it well, clipping it away from the in-rushing Matthias Witthaus. The kookaburras hit the front, however, in the 22^nd minute off the back of Glenn Turner’s brilliant incision. His thumping shot bounced up off Weinhold but Hamish Jamson held his whistle well and Govers walloped the ball through the German goalkeeper’s legs as he scrambled to try and block.

Sweet Eddie Ockenden and Jamie Dwyer touches almost yielded a second but Weinhold saved from Chris Ciriello – playing his 100^th international – as well as from Govers from corners. Sandwiched between those efforts was the equaliser, Moritz Furste nailing a low corner bullet in the 26^th minute, a goal that ensured parity at the half-time break. It was a pulsating battle, played at an incredible tempo throughout and this manner continued into the second half.

Glenn Turner restored the lead in the 43^rd minute as a right-wing cross got hammed in Weinhold’s pads, Turner fished it out for Ockenden to slap back into the mix and the striker duly gobbled up his fourth of the campaign. The response, though, was immaculate. Oskar Deecke was denied one of the goals of the tournament by mere centimetres on a video referral when Oskar Deecke’s lob was controlled at waist-high and popped up and over Nathan Burgers’ shoulder without hitting the deck. His third touch was the one that denied the breath-taking moment, connecting just over shoulder height.

His side were level when Matthias Witthaus swept home from the right as Tobias Hauke’s pint-point pass in the 54th minute, rewarding a period of encampment in Aussie territory. And when a video referral worked in their favour to win a corner four minutes later, Timo Wess pushed home his first goal of the tournament off the back of Zeller’s spin-switch.

Then, the crowing glory. Australia, behind in a game for the first time in the tournament, pressed for an equaliser but could only find a brick wall of defenders. Hauke dispossessed them on his own penalty spot, starting a 90 metre move that set Benjamin Wess free on the left. Florian Fuchs hared forward the length of the pitch to slide onto his cross and win it with seven minutes to go.

For coach Markus Weise, it means he could be in line for a third successive Olympic gold. Previously, he coached the German ladies to glory in Athens in 2004 and subsequently repeated the trick with the men in 2008.

(Stephen Findlater)

Markus WEISE (GER) - coach

On the match: "It was a super semifinal. I am pleased with the performance, it was a big match and this time we were at the other end of it. I'm sure next time it would be different. We showed super passion and fighting spirit, but it wasn't just about this spirit, we played hockey and had good tactics. There were not many chances, usually you have to defend about 20 Australia chances, which is an achievement against Australia."

Maximilian MUELLER (GER) captain

On the result: "Of course, I am happy. Maybe the happiest guy in the tournament. Playing against Australia is always tough. They are physically strong, it was a hard and strong and fast game."

On the final: "We will regenerate and relax. No thoughts about the final right now, maybe tomorrow evening we will think about our opponents."

On the secret to the coach's success (WEISE has led Germany to three successive finals): "This is probably a hard question. Markus is very good at getting us focused on the games and relaxing between them. He has given us sharp pace and dynamic focus."

Ric CHARLESWORTH (AUS) - coach

On the defeat: "We who play sport know that each game has a winner and a loser. Today we fell short of winning and are disappointed. Each team had their chances and it's the small margins that make the difference. The goal that brought Germany back into the game was a soft turnover in the middle of the field."

On getting his players ready for the bronze medal match: "It's very difficult, but that's the task. We'll use today to recover and then think about our opponent. It's not easy, but our players are ambitious and it's still a chance to win an Olympic medal."

On whether his team switched off when Australia were leading 2-1: "No, I don't think so. The game was very intense at every minute of the game. Their goal came at a bad time, which made it harder for us, maybe another day it doesn't happen like this. But even at 3-2 I was still confident."

On Australia's last two matches, suffering late comebacks from the opposition: "We had only conceded five goals against us before today and three of them were own goals. I don't read anything into it. At the end of the day, good teams cause you damage."

On his future: "I have put my family through a lot with this job. Four more years at my stage would be heroic. I'm not as young as Markus (WEISE, GER)."

Jamie DWYER (AUS) 

On Australia's last two matches, suffering late comebacks: "I don't know, today we made some errors, Germany scored and capitalised on our mistakes. Against Argentina we got lucky and with Great Britain I don't know what happened. It's not about our fitness, we're all fit. Maybe we just need to be thorough for the full 70 minutes."

On his feelings: "It's tough, obviously. You train four years for this. I've been to three Olympic Games and was lucky enough to win in my first tournament and then I felt like this at the last one when we lost our semifinal against Spain. But this is the position we put ourselves in, we have to get over it and pick something up from the tournament."

On his future: "I want to concentrate on the next game and then after the games I have a couple of months off, which I will spend with my family. After that I will re-assess where I am heading."