DIARY: MAY 26
DIARY: MAY 26
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May 26 |
Day 7 of competition The day started with women's games in pool "A": the situation is getting clearer now: Scotland (with a victory over China 2-1) and South Africa (with a very narrow win over USA 2-1, two goals from Pietie Coetzee) will qualify for the 5-8 play-off. Australia and Germany will qualify for the semi-finals but their encounter yesterday didn't leave any doubt as to the better team: the "Hockeyroos" didn't seem to enjoy the pouring rain but, even playing half-heartedly, scored 3 goals and left the Germans panting for air at the end of the game. This game was nevertheless memorable, as forward Alyson Annan scored her 100th international goal in 155 games for Australia! On the men's side, India finally got points after beating New Zealand by the narrowest of margins: 1-0, one field goal scored with only 6 minutes to go. No disrespect for these teams, but this was only an appetizer before the main events of the day, the evening double-header in the big stadium: Canada-Germany followed by Holland-Korea. Once again, the crowd came en masse and was treated to a great evening of hockey. Canada-Germany was one of these exceptional events you sometimes have the privilege to witness in sport: Canada came back from a two-goal deficit to draw with the powerful German team 4-4!
Odds were not exactly in favor of the boys in red: Germany won the last seven encounters between the two countries and, here at the 1998 World Cup, the Germans were fresh from crushing Holland 5-1 when Canada had to settle for a rather disappointing draw to New Zealand 3-3. After 3 minutes, things looked even bleaker: Oliver "The German Rocket" Domke had mystified the Canadian defense to score his 6th goal of the tournament… The Canadian organized their game and equalized on a free hit from Ian Bird deflected by Rob Short. 1-1! The game settled down in midfield but the mighty Germans couldn't really take over. It was pouring with rain in Utrecht, slowing down the well-paced German passes. Despite the pressure, the Canadian defense was steady around Alan Brahmst and Patrick Burrows but had to concede a penalty stroke. Goalkeeper Mike Mahood stopped the shot but it rolled under him across the line… Incredibly, it took less than one minute for Canada to level the score again: another free hit outside the circle, this time from Peter Milkovich, and Rob Short scored his second goal of the night.
2-2 at half time. The crowd was making no mystery of its sympathy: red and orange were on the same side last night and the Dutch choir learned very quickly how to chant "GO! CANADA! GO!" (with a distinctive Dutch guttural accent). Germany came on strong in the second half and was soon up 4-2: one field goal and one penalty-corner by Bjorn Michel. You can't afford to give away penalty-corners against Germany: they don't go for fancy combinations, just sheer power. First opportunity, one goal!
Last Thursday, when Holland went down 1-2 in front of Germany, the Dutch players more or less stopped playing, knowing all too well how hard it is to come back against such an organized and powerful team. Well, well, well, not the Canadians! With the whole stadium shouting loudly, they kept pushing, red wave after red wave. The Germans had to concede a penalty stroke and Peter Milkovich made no mistake to make it 4-3.  The crowd, feeling that something special was happening, was on its feet. The boys in red didn't know they had so many fans in Holland! The clock was ticking down but with 2 minutes to go, Robin D'Abreo got the ball from a long corner and hammered it past the German goal-keeper, much to the delight of the crowd which was now chanting louder and louder. After conceding two goals in the last 10 minutes to New Zealand (final score 3-3), the Canadian team must have worked hard on this "last 10 minutes syndrome"! This time, it was the Germans' turn to be pushed back on their heels and Alan Brahmst could boldly say at the post-game press conference "We should have won!"
Long after the German team had gone back to their dressing room, in the pouring Dutch rain, sixteen Canadian players and the support staff were still doing lap after lap, waving exuberantly to the standing crowd.
Canada is playing India on Thursday and the situation is clear: a win would qualify them for the 5-8 play-off, a standing never achieved by a Canadian men's team at the World Cup! After this emotional game, the Dutch crowd had another reason to
celebrate (although the Dutch don't seem to need ANY reason to enjoy
themselves!!!): although Korea scored first just after half-time, the
Orange team scored 4 goals in a row, including 3 in 5 minutes, to
finally win the game 4-2.
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More reports can be found on
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For more information:
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'98 World Cup Menu
CANADIAN CORNER !
