Match No.33: 13th DEC 2018 BELGIUM Vs GERMANY

Hayden Phillips’ field goal with 10 minutes left on the clock to pull one back at 1-2 made it ‘game on’ for New Zealand against Spain.

It provided coach Darren Smith the impetus to bring on kicking back Corey Bennet.
Kane Russel then slammed home the equaliser to fetch his team a valuable point.
Smith, though, believed that his team’s direct approach to move forward with the ball was always going to set up such a moment in the last quarter.

Match No.34: 13th DEC 2018 INDIA VS THE NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands, masters of the art, are having the uncharacteristic difficulty in converting penalty corners at the 14th World Cup.
The quarterfinal clash against India in the Kalinga Stadium cauldron on Thursday was no different. Mink van der Weerden had attempted four without success. As he shaped for what would have most likely have been – according to the trend — a futile fifth attempt, young Indian midfielder Neelakanta Sharma broke the line.
The umpire sent him beyond the centre-line as retribution for the breach. That left just four defenders including goalkeeper Sreejesh to defend the penalty corner.
Van der Veerden gingerly flicked the ball past Sreejesh to give the Netherlands a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

The penalty corner itself stemmed from some loose defensive play. Vice-captain Kangujam Chinglensana’s free hit wasn’t brought under control by Birendra Lakra.
Seve van Ass snatched the ball to make a dash towards the D and Chinglensana’s clumsy challenge brought the Dutch the fateful penalty corner.
The three-time champions maintained the lead despite India’s frantic attempts to score and booked a place in the semifinals where they play holders Australia.
============