New Zealand to face Korea in London Cup Finals
The men’s hockey teams of New Zealand and Korea have qualified for the finals of the London Cup, which is currently underway at the University of Westminster, in Chiswick, London. In the final round robin fixture, Korea outplayed Belgium by two goals, 3-1
while England registered their first victory in the home series against the Black Sticks at 3-1.
Moon Ki Yoo, the trainer of the Korean squad while speaking to the media in a delighting state-of-mind, praised the performance of the players in the mega event. He stated, “Prior to this tournament our goalkeeper had a lot of problems with his hip and missed
a lot of training. As a result I was wary what his performance would be like but the team worked hard to make up for it and we are delighted to progress to the final on Saturday.”
On the other hand, the winning coach of England, Jason Lee, also expressed satisfaction over the improved performance of English players in the tournament. He was of the opinion that they displayed an outstanding show despite the fact they contested the
match with low confidence. He continued, “We were addressing the appalling performance against Belgium and today shows that we’re a high quality team; it has just come a bit late in the tournament. It’s obviously good in terms of European preparation.”
After winning the game against Belgium, the Korean men established their dominance into the tournament and confirmed a spot in the finals against the Black Sticks. Meanwhile, the English side despite losing the game will play a play-off game against Belgium
for the third position. It is vital to mention here that Belgium powered a commanding and shocking 4-2 victory over England in the maiden fixture of the tournament.
In the first game of the day, Korea took Belgium down by two impressive goal margin, 3-1. Kyu Yeob Jang of Korea converted a short-corner in the 23rd minute of the match. It was the only action from two teams in the first round. In the second
half, Hyo Sik You and his team-mate, Nam Yong Lee, added one goal each in the 52nd and 64th minute of the match, respectively. The solitary goal from Belgium was scored by Cedric Charlier in the 59th minute, but it could not
save them from a humiliating defeat. The Koreans won the game by 3-1.
In the second fixture, the English boys marked first victory of the event against Black Sticks at 3-1. Richard Mantell, Adam Dixon and Rob Moore scored one goal each in the England scoring, while Nick Wilson accounted for a solitary goal from New Zealand.
The grand finale will be played on Saturday July 16, 2011 between Korea and the Black Sticks.
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