Rio Olympics 2016: Day 1 to Day 3 of men’s hockey

Day 3

Rio 2016 Olympic Games – Men’s Hockey: Rühr late show sinks valiant India on Day 3

Christopher Rühr scores dramatic late winner against India to give Germany 2-1 victory
Reigning champions Germany move two points clear at the top of Pool B
Argentina defeat Pan Am rivals Canada and remain unbeaten

8 August 2016 – Day 3 (men): The third day of action in the men’s hockey competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games featured two Pool B contests, with reigning Olympic champions Germany and Pan American champions Argentina both recording significant victories at the Deodoro Hockey Centre.

The first match saw India (FIH Hero World Ranking: 5) produce an excellent performance against Beijing 2008 and London 2012 gold medallists Germany (WR: 3), although it was the European giants who edged to a 2-1 win over the eight times Olympic champions thanks to a dramatic late winner from Christopher Rühr, the winner of the FIH Rising Star of the Year Award both in 2013 and 2015. The scores were level for long periods of the contest, with India’s Rupinder Pal Singh needing just five second quarter minutes to cancel out Niklas Wellen’s opening goal for Germany. India arguably had the better of the latter stages but were cruelly punished when Rühr touched home a pass from Martin Häner with less than five seconds remaining.

Speaking after the match, Germany hero Rühr said: “It’s an amazing feeling, and in the end it doesn’t matter who scored the goal. I think it was a sign of strong will. We never gave up and that’s just German.”

A second successive win at Rio 2016 means that Germany are two points clear at the top of the Pool B standings, being the only team in the pool not to have dropped any points in their opening two fixtures. India finished the day siting fourth in the pool, one point behind the Netherlands and Argentina.

Argentina (WR: 7) – who claimed a hugely creditable draw with the Netherlands (WR: 2) in their first match – maintained their unbeaten start in Pool B with a 3-0 win over Pan-American rivals Canada (WR: 15). Following an early opening goal from Argentina’s Matias Paredes, Los Leones were made to work exceptionally hard for the points by a supremely organized Red Caribous defensive line. The Pan-Am champions eventually put the result beyond all doubt in the fourth quarter, with penalty corner ace Gonzalo Peillat scoring twice in quick succession to effectively kill off the challenge of their opponents. Canada rallied in the final stages of the game and pulled a goal back thanks to Scott Tupper’s low penalty corner drag-flick, but excellent defensive work from the South Americans ensured that all of three points went their way.

The result moves Argentina into third place in the Pool B standings, level on four points with the Netherlands but with a slightly inferior goal-difference. Canada and Ireland remain the only teams in Pool B that have yet to secure a point at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Day 2

Rio 2016 Olympic Games – Men’s Hockey: Casasayas strikes as Spain stun Kookaburras on Day 2
Spain cause huge shock with victory over top-ranked Australia
Red Sticks join Belgium’s Red Lions at the top of Pool A with six points apiece
Van der Weerden and Croon write the headlines as Netherlands make it two wins from two in Pool B

7 August 2016 – Day 2 (men): Spain (FIH Hero World Ranking: 11) have produced the biggest shock of the Rio 2016 Olympic men’s hockey competition so far thanks to a stunning victory over reigning World, Champions Trophy and Hockey World League champions Australia (WR: 1). Alex Casasayas scored the crucial goal as the Red Sticks downed the Kookaburras to join Belgium’s Red Lions at the top of Pool A. Both Spain and Belgium have claimed a maximum of six points from their opening two games to put them within touching distance of confirming their respective places in the competition Quarter-Finals.

The second day of action at the Deodoro Hockey Centre featured a full quota of men’s Pool A matches. Great Britain (FIH Hero World Ranking: 4) and New Zealand (WR: 8) both recovered from opening day defeats to claim their first points of the competition courtesy of a 2-2 draw. David Condon struck in the second minute to give Team GB an early advantage only for Kane Russell to restore parity just before the end of the opening quarter. Hayden Phillips put the Black Sticks ahead early in the second period before Great Britain captain Barry Middleton touched home from close range in the 25th minute after being picked out by a terrific pass from the ever-impressive Iain Lewers.

Following their hugely impressive opening day victory against Great Britain, Belgium’s Red Lions (WR: 6) went into their Pool A meeting with host nation Brazil (WR: 30) brimming with confidence and proved too strong for their opponents, surging to a 12-0 victory. Ten different players managed to make a mark on the score-sheet for Belgium, with Tanguy Cosyns (2), Arthur van Doren (2), Florent van Aubel, Felix Denayer, Jerome Truyens, Gauthier Boccard, Thomas Briels, Sebastien Dockier, Cedric Charlier and John-John Dohmen and were all on target as Belgium continued their excellent start to the competition and now sit clear of Spain at the top of Pool A thanks to a vastly superior goal-difference.

Australia came into Sunday’s final Pool A match as heavy favourites, but Spain produced a defensive master-class to keep arguably the world’s most feared attacking side at bay and claim a hard-earned 1-0 victory. Alex Casasayas scored the only goal of the game in the sixth minute, with his team withstanding a barrage of Kookaburras’ pressure in the latter stages to seal a famous victory over the top-ranked team in world hockey. “We knew it was going to be the toughest game of the group stage”, said Spain captain Manel Terraza after the match. “We knew it was going to be a game where we would be defending a lot and that’s what we did. I think we were almost perfect in our defending. We got lucky in the sense of scoring early in the game, but the team performed very well.”

In Pool B, the Netherlands (WR: 2) defeated Ireland (WR: 12) 5-0 to claim their first win of the competition following their opening day draw against Argentina. Oranje defender Mink van der Weerden scored twice against the Green Machine to continue his remarkable record of having netted in every single Olympic match that he has played. The penalty corner ace, who scored eight times in seven matches to finish as the competition top scorer at the London 2012 Games, now has three goals from two matches in Rio and looks to be at the very top of his game. It was also a memorable match for the competition’s youngest player Jorrit Croon, with the 17-year-old wonder-kid making his mark on the score-board with a superb close-range deflection. On scoring his first Olympic goal, Croon said: “It’s a great, great feeling, and it was a nice goal as well. A ball from the right side and I just timed it right and tipped it into the roof of the goal. I really enjoyed the moment.”

Results

Pool A
Great Britain 2, New Zealand 2; Brazil 0, Belgium 12; Australia 0, Spain 1.

Pool B
Netherlands 5, Ireland 0.

Day 1

Rio 2016 Olympic Games – Men’s Hockey: Belgium impress on day 1
Six men’s matches kick off Rio 2016 Olympic hockey competition
World champions Australia and Belgium make winning starts in Pool A
Title holders Germany and India claim victories in Pool B openers

6 August 2016 – Day 1 (men): The men’s hockey competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games got underway on Saturday, with all 12 title challengers taking to the field in what was a thrilling, unpredictable and action-packed opening day at the Deodoro Hockey Centre.

In Pool A, Belgium (FIH Hero World Ranking: 6) proved themselves to be too good for higher-ranked Great Britain (WR: 4), with Jerome Truyens, Tanguy Cosyns, Simon Gougnard and Cedric Charlier giving the Red Lions a 4-1 win over the 1988 Olympic champions. Speaking after the match, Belgian captain John-John Dohmen said: “It’s the perfect start. We played as a team, we played together, that was so important. It has been a long time since we’ve beaten them so for us it’s the perfect feeling.”

Reigning World, Champions Trophy and Hockey World League champions Australia (WR: 1) were given a stern test by Oceania rivals New Zealand (WR: 8) but eventually triumphed with a 2-1 victory. Chris Ciriello and Matt Gohdes gave the Kookaburras a 2-0 lead before Hugo Inglis pulled a goal back for the Black Sticks shortly after half-time. New Zealand gave an excellent showing of themselves but the top-ranked Australians did enough to claim all three points.

2008 Olympic silver medallists Spain (WR: 11) produced a strong performance to overwhelm host nation Brazil (WR: 30). Xavi Lleonart and Josep Romeu both scored twice as the Red Sticks claimed a 7-0 victory over the home favourites to finish top of the Pool A standings on goal difference at the end of day 1.

In Pool B, Argentina (WR: 7) produced a stunning fight-back to secure a 3-3 draw against the Netherlands (WR: 2) in what was the first hockey match of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Goals from Jeroen Hertzberger, Mink van der Weerden and Seve van Ass gave Oranje a 3-1 lead going into the final quarter, but strikes from Lucas Vila – who also netted in the first half – and Matias Paredes ensured that the sides coached by former Argentina team-mates Carlos Retegui (Argentina) and Max Caldas (Netherlands) each claimed a point from their opening fixture.

Ireland’s Green Machine (WR: 12) came close to stealing what would have been a remarkable point in their first Olympic hockey match for over 100 years, going down to a narrow 3-2 defeat against eight times Olympic champions India (WR: 5). Rupinder Pal Singh scored twice in the contest for the Asian champions, with his 48th minute strike proving to be enough to give India a winning start to their Olympic title challenge.

2008 and 2012 Olympic champions Germany (WR: 3) got their competition off to a flying start with a 6-2 win over Canada’s Red Caribous (WR: 15), sending out a warning to all teams that they are more than ready to defend their Olympic title. Double Olympic gold medallist Moritz Fürste and Niklas Wellen both netted doubles for Die Honamas, who top Pool B on goal difference at the end of the opening day of competition.

Results

Pool A
Belgium 4, Great Britain 1; Australia 2, New Zealand 1; Spain 7, Brazil 0.

Pool B
Argentina 3, Netherlands 3; India 3, Ireland 2; Canada 2, Germany 6.