The outsiders gave a good account of themselves today as the
Women’s World League Semi-Finals in Rotterdam entered the quarter final stage.
Belgium, who had finished third in Pool B, played second
placed Korea from Pool A, and nearly caused an upset as their Barbara Nelen
found the net in less than a minute. Unfortunately for them, Korea scored twice,
mid-way through the first half, courtesy of Mi Hyun Park and Jong Eun Kim. Winning the match 2-1, Korea will play
Germany in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Chile from Pool A had
failed to win a point and had a minus 17 goal difference but, playing
top-placed Germany from Pool B, they made life difficult for their higher
ranked opponents. A goal in each half,
the first from Maike Stockel and the second from Marie Mavers, gave the Germans
a 2-0 win.
Another side to suffer an early scare was New Zealand, who
had finished second in Pool B. Playing
Japan (third in Pool A), they found themselves behind after two minutes as a
result of an own goal. And the score remained at 0-1 until the second half,
which saw New Zeeland score three times from penalty corners, the first from
Krystal Forgesson, followed by strikes from Anita Punt and Charlotte Harrison.
Final score 3-1 to New Zealand.
In Thursday’s semi-finals New Zealand will play the winners
of the remaining quarter final match, which was between The Netherlands and
India. Despite dominating the match, the Dutch took time to get into their
stride, with only two first half goals from Kim Lammers and Maartje Paumen. Ellen Hoog scored a third for the Dutch nine
minutes into the second half, but this was soon followed by a response from
India’s Vandana Katariya.
After the Indian goal, the Dutch goal scoring machine went
into action, adding five more to their tally, with goals from Valerie Magis,
Eva De Goede (2), Sabine Mol and Maartje Paumen. Final score 8-1 to The Dutch.
Tomorrow sees the quarter final matches of the Men’s World League
Semi-Finals in Rotterdam. The second venue of the Women’s World League
Semi-Finals, London, starts this Saturday.
