Germany down Australia, book berth in final

Titleholders Germany beat world champions Australia 4-2 on Thursday to reach the men’s Olympic hockey final with both teams giving their all in a high quality semi-final. In a first half played at blistering pace, Australia went ahead after German keeper Max Weinhold failed to control a shot from Glenn Turner and Kieran Govers fired the volley rebound through his legs. Germany levelled minutes later with a low penalty corner flick by Moritz Fuerste and the 1-1 scoreline at halftime was a fair reflection of the action. Germany looked more dangerous at the start of the second half but it was Australia’s Turner who put his team back in the lead, sneaking the ball over Weinhold who had gone to ground to save two previous attempts Germany had a goal disallowed 12 minutes into the second half when Oliver Deecke volleyed an aerial pass over the Australian keeper, the umpire deciding after a video referral that Deecke had raised his stick above shoulder height. Germany bounced back from the disappointment and levelled when Matthias Witthaus, completely unmarked in the D, converted a cross from Tobias Hauke. They went ahead for the first time through a penalty corner flick by Timo Wess with just 11 minutes to go. Australia, needing to score, pushed forward, giving Germany space to net another goal on a quick counter-attack with seven minutes to go. Benjamin Wess sprinted for a long pass down the left touchline, slammed the ball across the circle and Florian Fuchs dived in to deflect it over the line. Meanwhile, Pakistan twice fought back from a goal down to defeat South Korea 3-2 and claim seventh place. New Zealand produced an overwhelming first-half performance in a 3-1 win over Argentina which gave them ninth place. Three goals within half an hour gave the Kiwis a psychological ascendancy they never really lost, even though Argentina battled hard to make an impression and pulled one back in the second half. From:Gulftoday