Champions Trophy: Argentina finish Pool-B campaign with win against Germany

Bhubaneswar, Dec 9: 

Argentina ended their Pool B campaign with six points after they beat Germany by 3-0 goals in the ongoing Hero Hockey Champions Trophy at Kalinga Stadium in Odisha’s capital city today.

(courtesy: www.myluxidream.com)
(courtesy: www.myluxidream.com)

After a barren first quarter, Argentina upped the ante in the second. Captain Matias Paredes was at the centre of everything and he opened the scoring with a mid-circle smash.

Gonzalo Peillat drew a brilliant diving save from Felix Reuss before Joaquin Menini continued his fine form with a great strike, clipping into the top corner after Paredes robbed the ball on halfway. He laid on a perfect back-door pass for Menini to race clear, making it 2-0.

Germany had a couple of better openings in the third quarter of this tight, cagey battle, with Florian Fuchs firing across the face of goal while Juan Vivaldi made some tidy saves while his defence kept out a penalty corner.

Christopher Wesley shot a sharp, close-range effort wide early in the fourth quarter and then miscued a shot to continue Germany’s frustrations. And they were caught once again from a quick free on 49 minutes which Ignacio Ortiz popped past Reuss for 3-0 with Manu Brunet on hand to watch the ball go in. From there, the European side had their moments but could not get one back and they end the group on three points courtesy of their 1-0 win over India last Saturday.

“We played well with young players but we were unable to convert. Argentina were very good in their defence which made it difficult for us. But we will put form here the aim is to win the quarter final and enter the semis, Germany Captain Tobias Hauke after the match. 

“I am very satisfied with our performance. We kept the pressure on them throughout the game and converted the opportunities into goals and which helped us win this game. We will have to ensure that we do not lose momentum and keep this form in the next phase”, Argentina captain and Man of the Match Matias Paredes said.

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