Korea Overwhelms Netherlands for Shot at 1st Ever Hockey Final
ang Jong-hyun scored three goals Monday as South Korea thrashed defending champion Netherlands 6-2, moving one step closer to a possible Champions Trophy final for the first time.
In other matches Monday, Australia beat Britain 1-0 while Germany defeated Spain 4-1 for its fourth consecutive victory. Pakistan and Malaysia drew 2-2.
Jang's goals in 33rd, 61st and 64th minutes is the second player to score three in a Champions Trophy match after Ronald Brouwer of the Netherlands, who did it during a 9-2 hammering of Pakistan in last year's tournament.
Despite trailing to the European champions twice, the South Koreans never gave up and relied on their superior fitness as they scored four times in the last nine minutes to grasp a credible chance of reaching Sunday's final.
Germany leads the standings with 12 points, followed by Australia on nine and South Korea on seven. The Asian team still has to play Malaysia (Wednesday), Pakistan (Thursday) and Britain (Saturday), but all are winnable games. If it wins all three, the 16 points should secure it a place in the title decider on Sunday.
The Netherlands, which was undefeated going into this match, faces two tough matches against Germany on Wednesday and Australia on Thursday. Both these teams are also in with a chance of reaching the final, but Australia has three tough games ahead _ against Spain, the Netherlands and Germany.
The Germans raced to a 3-0 half-time lead with goals from Oliver Korn (4th), Matthias Witthaus (32nd) and Jan Marco Montag (34th). Witthaus added a fourth goal nine minutes from time while Sergi Enrique pulled one back after 63 minutes.
However, it was South Korea which sent shock waves Monday.
Wouter Hermkens gave the Dutch the lead after 22 minutes but it was canceled out by Jang's first goal in the 33rd minute.
The Netherlands went in front two minutes after the restart under controversial circumstances. A Jeroen Delmee free hit from outside the scoring zone appeared to have gone straight into goal although Matthijs Brouwer claimed he had the last touch.
For the first time in this tournament, the television umpire was asked to adjudicate after field umpires Amarjit Singh of Malaysia and Simon Taylor of New Zealand could not decide.
The outcome remained inconclusive but Brouwer was given the benefit of the doubt and the goal stood.
However, it did not deter South Korea and the Dutch defense crumbled in the 55th minute when Kim Sam-seok scored a field goal.
The floodgates opened in the 61st minute when Jang scored twice -- one with a field goal and another penalty corner blaster. Lee Nam-yong (67th) and Kim Joung-goo (68th) completed the rout.
Mon December 3, 2007 11:17 EST
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)
Jang Jong-hyun from South Korea, left, and Matthijs Brouwer of the Netherlands fight for the ball during the men's Hockey Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, Dec. 3, 2007.
(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
ang Jong-hyun scored three goals Monday as South Korea thrashed defending champion Netherlands 6-2, moving one step closer to a possible Champions Trophy final for the first time.
