Pak, Australia held to draws

Other gold medal contenders appeared to go into the defensive mode as the battle intensified, with hosts Australia held to a 2-2 draw by rejuvenated Spain.

The best match of the day was the rousing 5-5 draw between Argentina and Poland, sparked by Argentine striker Jorge Lombi8217;s four goals, but it did little to shed light on the likely semi-finalists.

With two rounds of matches to go, all six teams remained in contention for the two semi-final spots from Group B8217;.

Australia and South Korea lead the Group with five points followed by India and Poland with four each.

Even Spain and Argentina, trailing with two points apiece, fancy their chances as the tournament lives up to it8217;s hype of being the most open ever.

Group A8217; has both Germany and reigning champions The Netherlands on seven points from three matches, two more than Pakistan.

All the action in the Germany-Pakistan match took place in the first half as Oliver Domke8217;s 19th minute goal was equalised by Abbas five minutes before the interval.

8220;It8217;s a very open contest, just as we had feared at the start,8221; said Pakistani manager Islahuddin Siddiqui.

8220;We will take it match-by-match. Our aim is to win both games, but a lot will depend on how the other teams fare.8221;

What was expected to be an easy outing for Australia almost turned into a nightmare as Spain finally showed the touch that won them the silver medal at Atlanta four years ago.

The Spaniards, who had managed just point in their two previous games, found timely form as they matched Australia8217;s all-round strength.

8220;We needed to win, we deserved to win,8221; Spanish goal-scorer Pablo Amat said. 8220;It was a much better performance by us this time.

8220;We attacked and defended well. Hopefully the form will stick and we can make it to the semi-finals.8221;

Poland and Argentina delighted the crowd at the State Hockey Centre with fluent counter-attacks that produced seven goals in the second half, four of them in the last 10 minutes. Lombi8217;s fourth goal helped Argentina draw level 4-4.

Santiago Capurro then put Argentina ahead 5-4 in the 66th minute, but Poland8217;s Rafal Grotoswski equalised the very next minute.

8220;My only regret is we did not win,8221; Lombi said. 8220;It8217;s not nice scoring four goals if it gets you only one point.8217;.