India to play Pakistan for bronze

AMSTELVEEN: It has been a remarkable turnaround for India. In the space of 24 hours, there is suddenly a medal possibility in a tournament that seemed to be a disaster till now. Indian fans waited with great eagerness for the Australia-Argentina clash, for on that depended India''s chances.
Though Australia needed only to draw this match to enter the final against hosts Netherlands, Argentina had to avoid losing this match by more than a two-goal margin to finish fourth in the league. It looked as if it would be a touch and go affair, as the Australians led 2-0 at half time. The Argentines were very much in the fight, but into the second half, the game just changed totally. Australia went on a goal riot and from 2-0 went to 8-2 up and finally ended 8-3 winners. The win pushed Argentina to fifth place and they fight for the fifth and sixth place against Germany.
Meanwhile, Holland thrashed Germany 6-0 in another one-sided match and set up what I feel could be one of the most exciting finals in recent memory. So, the final day is going to be exciting with Australia and Holland playing for gold and India-Pakistan for bronze. From India''s point of view, their upcoming clash against Pakistan is a chance to consolidate the gains of Friday. At the same time, they cannot take Pakistan lightly, for they will not make the same mistakes again. On Friday, they left big gaps as they went for attacks and ended conceding goals, when India counter-attacked.
Pakistan could have slowed the pace when they led 4-2, but overconfidence at that stage was their undoing. For India, under estimating Pakistan on the basis of the league would be a similar error. I am sure Indian players are high on confidence and a bronze medal would go a long way in raising the game''s profile and it is a fantastic chance for them. The slight concern is the injury to Ignace Tirkey (knee) and Baljit Saini (nose), but hopefully they will be fit for the bronze medal match.
Today, Australia showed their strikerpowe as Michael McCann and Grant Schubert scored two goals each, while Craig Victory, Troy Elder (penalty stroke), Robert Hammond and Tristram Wodehouse scored once each. For Argentina, the consolation was that Jorge Lombi''s two goals kept him in the top position of goal scorers with ten in five games. He has one more game to go. Schubert has nine.
Australia''s peak came between the 53rd and 63rd minutes, when they scored five times and gave one. And in one period between 58th and 63rd minutes, they had four goals. Argentina came close twice early in the second half, first when they were 1-3 and then 2-4. But after that it was all one-sided.
Australia utilised their counter-attacks brilliantly and played fast and furious hockey at an incredible speed. Schubert, McCann and company were like flashes on the field darting from one end to another. The Dutch had better watch out for them.