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Australia steals the show and Hockey World Cup from Germany | Aussie players proved a little too much for the Germans playing in the Hockey World Cup final on Saturday, as Team Australia with its speed and brilliant use of tactics managed to win the cup after a 24-year hiatus with a 2-1 win over defending champions Germany here. Australia, whose previous World Cup title came way back in 1986,
had lost the last two finals against Germany in 2002 and 2006. The Germans, hoping
to become the first team in history to bag a hat-trick of titles to add to the
Beijing Olympic gold medal two years ago, were outpaced by the speedy
Australians.
Luke Doerner scored the winning penalty corner 11 minutes from the end after
Edward
Ockenden had put the Kookaburras ahead in the sixth minute and Moritz Furste
drew
level for Germany in the 48th. Doerner's eighth goal in the tournament made him
the joint leading scorer with another penalty corner specialist Taeke Taekema
of the Netherlands. Kookaburras' legendary coach Ric Charlesworth watched the
final from the stands behind the goal, rather than on the bench, just as he had
done in the semi-final against the Netherlands. Charlesworth, who was part of
Australia's Cup winning squad in 1986, became only the second man after Dutchman
Hans Jorritsma to win the World Cup both as a player and coach. I am too noisy
and too excited on the bench, so I preferred to be calm in the stands," said
Charlesworth
while adding: "There was nothing superstitious about it. I am very, very pleased.
We played a good game with a lot of control and authority. Scoring that early
goal was very helpful." German captain Max Muller conceded that the penalty
corners
proved decisive. "We too got one in the end, but could not score," he said. "We
are a young side and maybe got overawed by the occasion. The Netherlands,
meanwhile,
gave veteran goalkeeper Guus Vogels a retirement present by winning the bronze
medal with a 4-3 win over England earlier on Saturday. |
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