Beijing, Aug. 17: Taeke Taekema slammed a last-second penalty corner as the Netherlands held reigning champions Australia to a crucial 2-2 draw in the Olympic men’s field hockey on Sunday. In a match-up between the Athens Games finalists, the Kookaburras led 2-1 till the last 25 seconds through goals by Eddie Ockenden and Luke Doerner, before Taekema’s second goal tied the game.
The draw virtually assured both teams a place in the semifinals from pool B, with nearest challengers Britain three points adrift ahead of the last round of league matches on Tuesday.
Former champions Pakistan, who were lying in fourth place, were knocked out of contention. Meanwhile, Germany resurrected their semifinal hopes with a 1-0 win over pool A leaders Spain, Moritz Fuerste scoring the winner a minute before half-time.
In a race wide open, Germany trail by just one point behind Spain’s nine, while New Zealand and South Korea are in third place with seven points each. The Germans must defeat the Kiwis on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals, while Spain needs to beat the Koreans. “It’s not over by any means,” said German coach Markus Weise. “No one in my team is taking anything for granted.” New Zealand were denied a valuable point when they were locked in a 2-2 draw with hosts China.