Germans defeat hosts for bronze

MILTON KEYNES, Sept 28: Holders Germany saw off a late surge by England to win 4-2 and clinch the bronze medal in the sixth junior men's Wo...

MILTON KEYNES, Sept 28: Holders Germany saw off a late surge by England to win 4-2 and clinch the bronze medal in the sixth junior men’s World Cup hockey tournament, here today.

Germany dominated the first-half during which they struck thrice through Sascha Reinelt (6th minute), Max Klink (16th) and Christoph Eimer (25th) for a 3-0 lead at half-time.

On resumption, they struck a fourth time when Patrick Lunau-Mierke found the boards from a penalty-corner, before England started their comeback with goals by Adrian Simons (56th) and Alistair Boyce (66th), but ran out of time.

Earlier, Egypt edged past Cuba 3-2 with an extra-time goal to finish ninth overall. The teams tied 2-2 at the end of the regulation time.

PAKISTAN 5TH: Pakistan, whose pride took a beating after failing to qualify for the semifinals, eventually finished fifth when they beat Argentina 4-2 in a play-off game yesterday. It was a hard-fought victory for Pakistan since the Argentines led 2-1 at half-time.

Cuba edged out Japan 5-4. Heriberto Sarduy Gomez (3) and Jorge Luis Perez Hernandez (2) were the Cuban scorers, while Daisuke Hokaze netted all the four Japanese goals.The Netherlands pipped Spain 5-4 to take seventh position. The Dutch, thus, slipped a few notches from their fourth position in the previous edition.