 Dutch hold off hosts
By Yu Yilei (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-23 10:32
The Netherlands warded off a Chinese team eager to strike gold in its first Olympic women's hockey final to clinch a 2-0 win yesterday. It was the second Olympic gold for the Dutch team in 24 years. After its first gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, it had won a medal in every Games since except the 1992 Barcelona Games. This time, it lived up to expectations by plotting and executing a brilliant game that brought the Chinese to a virtual standstill on the Olympic Green Hockey Field. The sixth-ranked Chinese team, which won its first silver in the sport, held its own against the world's top-ranked team but lacked the skill to make any headway. "That was great. It was a nervous match, but we won it," said Naomi van As, who scored the first goal. Yesterday's championship match was scoreless at halftime, featuring several spectacular saves by Chinese goalkeeper Pan Fengzhen. The Dutch team's strength in midfield meant the Chinese players could not resort to aerial balls or the long hits that had seen them score goals in previous matches. At the other end, the movement of the Dutch forwards led the charge for much of the game. The real problem for the host was offence. China, playing in its first Olympic final, looked distinctly nervous with the huge burden of expectation from the nation and struggled to put together a move, much less score a goal. The Netherlands finally scored in the 51st minute on a penalty corner, with van As knocking in a rebound off Pan's stick to give her team the 1-0 lead. China failed to convert on a penalty corner less than two minutes later. The Dutch scored the clincher when Lidewij Welten knocked in an errant clearance attempt by China's Li Shuang in the 62nd minute. "We had played out best and the Netherlands did better to seize the few chances," said Chinese forward Fu Baorong. Chinese team coach Kim Chang-back confessed that taking on the Netherlands was a little more than China could handle. "We did everything we could but beating a top world team is not easy," Chang said. The Netherlands beat China 1-0 in the group competition. It has not lost a single match en route to the final with amazing form, which helped it to outclass world No 2 Argentina 5-2 in a lop-sided semifinal. "We are a strong team tactically. Physically, we have good conditioning. We are a balanced team, in the midfield, defense and attack. Also, we have those great penalty corners, so that makes us difficult to beat," said Dutch forward Marilyn Agliotti. For China, it was its best result since its Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games, where it finished a surprising fifth place. In Athens, China was beaten by Germany in the semifinals and then missed the bronze after losing to Argentina in the playoff. "Our team is in its best form now," Zhang said. "Although there might be some regret for not getting the gold, we have already made tremendous breakthrough with four years of effort. It's a historic moment for Chinese hockey." Agencies contributed to the story (China Daily 08/23/2008 page10) |
