Rabo FIH Champions Trophy: Final Eight Standings (Part 1)
The nine-day hockey gala, 2011 Rabo FIH Champions Trophy (Women), ended on July 03, 2011 with the host team of Netherlands coming out victorious for the sixth time and levelling their record.
The final match between Argentina and Netherlands was played at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands that swept joys on every Dutch face. It was a high penalty-drama, as the match was not decided in the 85 minutes of play. Finally the penalty
shootouts were the stage, where the Dutch women sank the reigning World Champions Argentina by 6-5.
In series of article, we will briefly discuss the performance of each team along with its best players in the eight-nation Champions Trophy. First of all we will take a look at the performance of title-winner the Netherlands.
Netherlands: Number One
Netherlands Hockey Team, the squad currently standing at the 2nd place in the world ranking, was at its best from the very first day of the tournament. It was the only team of the Champions Trophy which did not lose any game out of the total six.
By winning the title, the Dutch team also took revenge from Argentina to whom they lost the last four games.
On the way to the title-victory, the Dutch line-up played six games out of which they won five and drew only a single. In the opening competition of the tournament, they whitewashed Australia by three unanswered goal, while managed a win over Germany by
a single goal in the second fixture. In the third game, the Dutch side failed to show impressive performance, but managed a draw against Black Sticks Women. The amazing factor of the game was that no team could score a goal in the given time.
In the fourth fixture, the Dutch women broke the jinx over defeats and managed a victory against Argentina by a single goal margin, 2-1. It was more than a win for Dutch women who consecutively failed to show their best against Argentina in the last four
attempts. Similarly, Netherlands continued their triumphant-streak and overwhelmed Korea and Argentina in the final two games to win the title of the Champions Trophy Title.
Prominent Players
Among the outstanding players of the Dutch squad, Maartje Paumen, Wieke Dijkstra, Kim Lammers, Carlijn Welten and Lidewij Welten were the prominent names. Apart from these strikers, Eva de Goede, Marilyn Agliotti and Floortje Engels (goal-keeper) also displayed
a wonderful game throughout the six appearances and played their role in the gold-medal win.
Argentina: Number Two
The second team in the list of eight-nation tournament is Argentina which is currently holding number one place in the world ranks. It seemed that the ruling era of Argentinean women have finished, as they received a couple of defeats from the same team
in the same tournament. However, they secured a silver-medal in the Amsterdam-based event.
It played six games out of which they won three, drew one and lost two games. It began their action against England and took them down by 1-0. In the second and third matches, they obtained a victory over China, while managed a draw against Korea. Their
real disappointment started when they lost the first game in the hands of Netherlands. Though they paced up their game and edged past New Zealand in the second game, they failed to win the final competition against the host team. However, it was a brilliant
show where the game was completed in the shootout round.
Apart from their lack-lustre show-off in the penalty-shootout round, they contested the game in quite professional way and took the runner-up position.
Prominent Players
Delfina Merino, Daniela Sruoga, Luciana Aymar, Noel Barrionuevo and Agustina Soledad Garcia are among the best strikers of the Las Leonas. Apart from these, Rosario Luchetti, Carla Rebecchi, Silvina D'elia, Giselle Kanevsky, Noel Barrioneuvo and Maria Laura
Aladro gave splendid performances throughout the tournament.
Article continued from Rabo FIH Champions Trophy: Final Eight Standings (Part 2)
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