Bhubaneswar, Dec 9: Coming after a refreshing one-day break when they had a tour of the city, the Argentina continued the impressive show from their last match against India as they surprised the Olympic Champions Germany with a 3-0 victory Tuesday in their final Pool B match of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament here.
Incidentally, the Germans had practiced for over an hour Monday to perfect their strategy against an inspired Los Leones. However, nothing worked for them.
The Los leones defence stood strong through all quarters, while a relatively younger German side kept on missing opportunities. German star Fuchs Florina had one such opportunity towards the end of the first quarter but he found himself alone in the Argentina ‘D’ and slipped.
Except for the first quarter, when both teams fought hard for an opening, the World Cup bronze medallists dominated the entire match, starting with a mid-circle hit in the 18th minute by captain Matias Paredes which pierced the Berlin Wall with ease.
The Argentine struck again in the 25th minute when Paredes robbed the ball halfway and provided a gentle back-door pass to in-form Joaquin Menini who didn’t miss the opportunity to put the ball through the top corner of the German net.
The Honomas attempted to up the ante in the third and fourth quarters with speed and aggression but nothing appeared to be helping them. Fuchs again shot wide of the face of the post and Christopher Wesley shot wide off the post from the Argentina ‘D’ in the fourth quarter.
While a frustrated Moritz Furste kept on shouting, Ignacio Ortiz stole a goal giving the Los Leones an unassailable lead in the 49th minute.
The Germans, who were seen practicing penalty corner conversions Monday, failed to convert four times in the game as they couldn’t reach past the Argentine goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi, with three of them in the fourth quarter itself.
With their biggest victory in the tournament, Argentina ended their Pool campaign with six points, while the Germans had to be content with three points only, courtesy their first game 1-0 win against India.
