Australia through to Champions Trophy semi

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Dec 11, 2014 at 6:15 PM Updated On : Dec 11, 2014 at 6:16 PM

Bhubaneswar, Dec 11:

World champions Australia secured a semi-final spot after beating World Cup bronze medallists Argentina 4-2 in the second quarter-final of the hockey Champions Trophy here Thursday.

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Simon Orchard gave Australia a fifth-minute lead when he got a stick to Russell Ford’s hard right-wing cross, the ball just evading the clutches of Manuel Vivaldi.

Argentina equalised when Lucas Vila made a lovely run, ghosting around a few tackles before pulling the ball back. Facundo Callioni quickly flipped it to Matias Paredes to volley home a great goal, a minute into the second quarter.

The third quarter saw Manuel Brunet putting the Argentina ahead 2-1 after a great team move. However, Jeremy Hayward, adding his third goal in this tournament, levelled the score at 2-2 just two minutes later when his penalty corner drag-flick found its way into the net.

The ‘Kookaburras’ eventually secured their semi-final tickets thanks to Daniel Beale scoring from open play and Chris Ciriello firing home a penalty corner.

Argentina’s ‘Leones’ fought hard to get back but their effort did not pay off. (IANS)