Samsung Champions Trophy Women 2008 - Day 5: Argentina defeat The Netherlands to move level on points with Germany, who secured a victory against China earlier in the day. Reports are below.
Match 11: Germany 2, China 0
Germany defeated China 2-0 in the opening match of Day 5, thanks to goals from Anneke BOEHMERT and Janine BEERMANN. China dominated large parts of the match but struggled to find a way past the excellent Kristina REYNOLDS in the Germany goal. Both teams are next in action on Saturday, with Germany facing Argentina and China playing Japan.
The game was an exciting, end-to-end contest for the opening stages of the match. However, as the match progressed, China became the dominant force, but the side were guilty of missing some good goal scoring chances. They were eventually punished for their poor finishing when Germany scored the opening goal, which arrived just before half time. Janine BEERMANN moved into the circle before hitting a shot from the top of the circle which took a fortunate deflection and fell into the path of Anneke BOEHMERT, who passed the ball into an open goal. China came out strongest in the second half, but quickly found themselves 2-0 down when Janine BEERMANN scored a sensational goal, deflecting a high ball from Natascha KELLER over the keeper’s head and into the net. China continued to press hard throughout the match, but efforts from FU Bao Rong and MA Yi Bo were saved well by the in-form Kristina REYNOLDS. Germany secured the victory, making it three wins from their last three matches in this tournament, giving themselves a good chance of playing in Sunday’s final in front of a home crowd.
MATCH FACTS:
> Germany have now won three successive matches at Mönchengladbach 2008 and have collected nine points from four matches.
> Anneke Böhmert scored her second goal at Mönchengladbach 2008.
> Janine Beermann scored her first goal at Mönchengladbach 2008, to lift her Champions Trophy career total to four goals.
> Germany's Natascha Keller collected her 300th cap for Germany in today's match against China (outdoor and indoor combined).
> Germany and China have now met six times in Champions Trophy competition, with Germany winning five times and China winning once.
Match 12: Argentina 2, Netherlands 0
Argentina condemned The Netherlands to their second defeat in two days in Thursday’s final match in Monchengladbach. The heroines for Las Leonas were Carla REBECCHI and Luciana AYMAR, who both scored first half field goals against the world number 1 side. The result puts Argentina level on level on points with Germany at the top of the table, with the two sides playing each other on Saturday. The Netherlands still have a chance of reaching the final, but will need to defeat Australia on Saturday.
Argentina surged into a 2-0 lead thanks to two excellent first half strikes. The first goal came from the stick of Carla REBECCHI in the 11th minute, who somehow managed to deflect a high cross into the roof of the goal. Four minutes later, the influential Luciana AYMAR started a moved that she ended up finishing, driving a powerful shot past Lisanne DE ROEVER from the right.
The Netherlands were arguably the better team in the second half, but could not find away through an Argentina defence marshalled by veteran Magdalena AICEGA. The Netherlands won a penalty corner in the dying seconds of the game, but the Argentina defenders managed to deny their opponents a consolation goal.
MATCH FACTS:
> Aymar lifted her competition total to 14 goals. She now trails Argentina's joint top scorers Vanina Oneto and Alejandra Gulla by two goals
> Rebecchi added to her two goals scored at Quilmes 2007.
> Today's 2-0 defeat equals the biggest Champions Trophy defeat for the Dutch team.
> The Dutch have now failed to score in two successive Champions Trophy matches.
> The last time the Netherlands failed to score in two matches in single Champions Trophy edition was at Sydney 2003.
> Argentina and Germany top the table after Matchday 5, having collected nine points from four matches.
For more information about the tournament, including league tables, goal scorers lists and photos, please visit the FIH microsite: http://www.samsungchampionswomen.sportcentric.com/
