Australia breach german wall

New Delhi ,March 13: Ric Charlesworth made his way to the stands as the Australian and German players lined up to clash at the biggest stage — the final of the 12th Hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Saturday. For once, the Aussie legend did not have any instructions for his bunch.
The 57-year old has been plotting this victory for over a year now, and it was time his players put all the learning to use.

On the field, the Aussies played their roles to perfection. It was fairytale stuff as the Kookaburras finally broke the shackles to down nemesis Germany 2-1 to clinch the World Cup title after a gap of 24 years.

With this, Charlesworth achieved the distinction of winning the World Cup both as a player and coach. He was a member of Australia’s World Cup winning squad in 1986.

The Kookaburras put up a spectacular display on the day. Runners-up in the last two editions, the Aussies were eager to put the past behind and went into attack mode from the beginning.

Australia broke through the opponents’ defence as early as the 6th minute. Striker Edward Ockenden beat Germany goalkeeper Tim Jessulat in a goalmouth scramble to make it 1-0.

The Aussies tightened their grip thereafter and skipper Jamie Dwyer played like a dream, feeding the forwards with his brilliant work. Glenn Turner and Grant Schubert attacked in tandem and had the German defence engaged for most parts.

Germany’s resilience came to the fore in the second half. Skipper Maximillian Muller and Martin Haner were clinical at the back and thwarted almost every Aussie effort.

The Germans played beautifully but what they possessed in defence was clearly lacking upfront. The lack of a genuine striker hit the team’s chances hard. Penalty corners were perhaps their only chance to a victory and the Germans pressed hard for them. Their moment came in the 48th minute when Morits Fuertse scored off a superbly executed variation. The equaliser put a spring in their steps and the match was thrown wide open.

The Aussies relied on counter-attacks at this stage but found it tough to breach the German wall. Muller, in particular, stood like a rock.

The Australians though had the last laugh. In-form Luke Doerner — the tournament’s top scorer along with Holland’s Taeke Taekema — pumped in the winner in the 59th minute, sending a powerful flick past goalkeeper Jessulat.

The match saw its tense moments in the last ten minutes. Germany went all out for an equaliser but failed to find an opening as the minutes ticked by. The Aussies withstood the pressure and went berserk as the hooter went off. They had finally deciphered the code to the German defence and were crowned the new world champions.

German gesture wins Indian hearts

The Germans were heart-broken after the 1-2 loss, but they won many Indian hearts with their special gesture after the final. The crowds supported the defending champions and reserved their greatest applause whenever a Germans move came into play.
The Germans in turn carried a huge poster reading, “Thank you fans for your support. We appreciate all your efforts,” when they took the lap of honour, much to the delight of the spectators.

Harpreet Kaur Lamba