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Germany bounced back from their heartbreaking Day 1 defeat against The Netherlands to produce a solid performance against Australia, securing their first win of the tournament with a 2-1 score line. First half strikes from Anke KUEHN and Anneke BÖHMERT proved to be enough for victory over the Hockeyroos, who scored a consolation goal through Angela LAMBERT. The Netherlands moved to the top of the league table at the Samsung Champions Trophy Women 2008, thanks to an excellent 3-1 victory over China, with Marilyn AGLIOTTI and Minke SMABERS getting the all important goals for their team. In the final match of the day, goals from Agustina BOUZA and Claudia BURKART were enough to give Argentina their first win of the tournament in their contest against Argentina. Full reports are below.
Match 4: Germany 2, Australia 1
Germany produced a solid performance to secure their first win of the tournament, defeating Australia 2-1. Germany scored first half goals through field goals from Anke KUEHN and Anneke BOMERT.
Australia scored a 65th minute field goal through Megan RIVERS, but Germany held on for all three points, putting themselves back in the running for a top two finish in the round robin section of the tournament.
On Day 3, Australia face Argentina, with Germany taking on Japan.
The match started brightly, with both sides have excellent chances to open the scoring. However, it was Germany who struck first, when Anke KUEHN smashes the ball into the net in the 7th minute following excellent play from Fanny RINNE.
Australia immediately went in search of an equaliser, but instead found themselved 2-0 down in the 18th minute, when Angela LAMBERT failed to effectively deal with a pass into the circle, allowing Anneke BÖHMERT to tap in to an open goal.
In the 65th minute, Megan RIVERS gave Australia a lifeline, when she forced the ball over the line. Australia went in search of a equaliser, but Germany were unflustered and held on for all three points.
MATCH FACTS
> Anke Kühn's opening goal against Australia marked the second Champions Trophy goal of her career.
> At Rosario 2004, Kühn's first ever Champions Trophy goal also came against the Hockeyroos (1-0).
> Anneke Böhmert gave Germany a 2-0 lead by scoring a field goal in only her second Champions Trophy match.
> Megan Rivers scored Australia's only goal of the match. For Rivers this was her first goal in 24 Champions Trophy appearances.
> Last year, at Quilmes 2007, Australia beat Germany 2-1 in the 1st round, only to lose 2-0 against Germany in the bronze medal match.
> All three of Germany's goals at Mönchengladbach 2008, are scored from open play.
> Germany have been awarded five penalty corners so far, but are yet to score a pc goal.
> Australia's three goals at Mönchengladbach 2008, are made up of two penalty corner goals and one field goal.
> So far, Australia have converted 2 of 11 penalty corners awarded at Mönchengladbach 2008.
Match 5: Netherlands 3, China 1
The Netherlands moved to the top of the league table at the Samsung Champions Trophy Women 2008, thanks to an excellent 3-1 victory over China.
For the second match in a row, The Netherlands fought back from being a goal down to secure the victory. China's ZHAO Yu Diao scored the opening goal of the game, but a brace from Marilyn AGLIOTTI and a penalty stroke from Minke SMABERS ensured that The Netherlands kept their 100 percent win record in this year’s tournament.
The Netherlands and China are not in action on Day 3, but will face China and Japan on Day 4 respectively.
The opening stages of the game were played at a high intensity, and it seemed that the match could be a high scoring one. The opening goal arrived in the 13th minute, when China's ZHAO Yu Diao tapped into an open goal following an error from The Netherlands as they attempted to clear their lines.
The Netherlands took just 11 minutes to equalise, when Marilyn AGLIOTTI scored her second goal of the tournament, diving full length to get a vital touch on a penalty corner that gave China keeper ZHANG Yi Meng little chance of saving. The Netherlands’ second goal was also scored by AGLIOTTI, and was an exact replica of the first, deflecting in a penalty corner from the right in the 53rd minute. With 11 minutes left to play, Netherlands play-maker Naomi VAN AS showed brilliant skills in the circle before being cynically fouled, leaving the umpire with little option but to award a penalty stroke. Minke SMABERS made no mistake, sending the keeper left and her flick right to all but guarantee the victory.
MATCH FACTS
> On Sunday, 18 May, the Netherlands beat China 3-1, to record their second win at Mönchengladbach 2008.
> Netherlands' last Champions Trophy win over China came at Rosario 2004 (2-0).
> In August, China and the Netherlands will meet again in pool A of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
> China's Zhao Yu Diao became the first player to score two goals at the 2008 Champions Trophy, by netting the opening goal in the match against the Netherlands.
> On Matchday 1 Zhao, also scored against Argentina. At age 18, Zhao is the youngest player at Mönchengladbach 2008.
> Marilyn Agliotti scored two penalty corner goals to bring the Netherlands victory.
> Agliotti has now scored three goals at Mönchengladbach 2008, which takes her to the top of the goalscoring table.
> She is the first player in Champions Trophy history to score for two totally different countries. At Amstelveen 2000, Agliotti netted once for South Africa.
> Minke Smabers' penalty stroke goal was her first CT goal since Sydney 2003 and her third overall.
> Roël Kuyvenhoven earned her first cap for the Netherlands in today's match against China.
> She is the fifth Dutch player to make her international debut at Mönchengladbach 2008.
> Fleur van Dooren now is the only player in the Dutch squad who is still to earn her first cap.
Argentina 2, Japan 1
Argentina defeated Japan in the final match of Day 2, giving themselves a much needed boost after yesterday's heart-breaking defeat against China. The match was closely contested, but it always seemed as if Argentina would have that little bit extra needed to secure victory. The opening goal was scored from Agustina BOUZA, who brilliantly chipped the ball over the head of Japan goalkeeper Ikuro OKAMURA with a reverse stick strike in the 29th minute. It seemed that Argentina would go on to score many more, but Japan produced some fine defensive hockey to keep the score to 1-0, and created plenty of chances of their own. Eventually though, Argentina scored their second when Claudia BERKART slapped a 63rd minute penalty corner inside the right post. Japan had time to grab a 69th minute goal through Kaori CHIBA, who managed to beat Argentina goalkeeper Paola VUKOJICIC to the ball to find the net. However, Argentina now have three points on the board, and will be looking to build on this ahead of the mid week matches in Monchengladbach.
MATCH FACTS
> On Sunday, 18 May, Argentina beat Japan 2-1 to post their first victory at Mönchengladbach 2008.
> Last year, at Quilmes 2007, Argentina beat Japan 3-1.
> Agustina Bouza opened the score for Argentina, scoring her first CT at Mönchengladbach 2008 and her second in CT history.
> At Quilmes 2007, Bouze scored her third CT goal against Australia (3-0).
> Claudia Burkart gave Argentina a 2-0 lead by scoring her first ever Champions Trophy goal.
> Kaori Chiba netted the first Japanese goal of the tournament and the fifth goal for Japan in Champions Trophy history.
> Rika Komozawa (2 goals), Sakae Morimoto and Toshie Tsukui are the only other Japanese goalscorers in CT history.
> Japan and Germany are the only teams that are yet to score a penalty corner goal at Mönchengladbach 2008.
For information about the tournament, please visit the FIH microsite http://www.samsungchampionswomen.sportcentric.com/
