With their third win of the competition (over Italy 2-0), Ireland finished first in pool A and will face Trinidad & Tobago in quarter-finals. Austria finished second in the group, setting up a quarter-final against the USA.
Russia, also unbeaten, topped Pool B after a 4-2 win over the USA and will face Chile in quarter-finals. With their win over Trinidad & Tobago (3-0), their second of the competition, Canada finished runner-up in the pool and will now face Italy, the good surprise of this competition.
Canada vs. Trinidad & Tobago: 3-0 (ht: 1-0)
With the Californian sun back after three days of heavy rain, Canada immediately went on the attack as they absolutely needed a win to grab a satisfactory finish in pool B. Canada had most of the initial possession but Trinidad & Tobago seemed to have renewed energy with the warmer weather, not to mention the arrival of their stalwart Kwan Browne freshly arrived from Europe after a weekend of matches in the English League.
Canada had a chance on a penalty-corner but were kept at bay by the Trinidadian defense and first quarter ended scoreless. Ron Alexander in the Trinidadian goal was called into action early in second quarter, before Canada were finally rewarded for their territorial domination in the 18th minute when Mark Pearson deflected in goal a penalty-corner initially saved by the goal-keeper.
Canada were besieging the Trinidadian goal but had nothing more to show for their effort. Trinidad & Tobago on the other end earned a penalty-corner in one of their lone entry in Canadian territory, but could not control it and the half-time break was reached with the thin one-goal lead for the North Americans.
Trinidad & Tobago survived a penalty-corner in the opening minute of second half. Canada tried different avenues but could not find a way through the Caribbean defense, well regrouped and organized around Kwan Browne. Antoni Kindler, in goal for Canada today, progressively saw more action and was even under intense pressure when the Canadians had to play short on a yellow card.
After their initial domination, the Canadians could not quite take control of the proceedings and left themselves within reach of their opponent, with still the one-goal lead going into the final quarter. They controlled the ball in midfield for long sequences but could not move or stretch enough the Trinidadian defense to have clear shots at goal. Even Scott Tupper’s attempts on penalty-corner were off target, and the crowd had to wait for the 53rd minute for the second Canadian goal, Iain Smythe managing to slide the ball in goal from close range.
Tempers started to warm-up and the umpires had to hand out yellow cards. But the floodgates were now opened and Canada added a goal by Matthew Sarmento for a 3-0 score better reflecting their domination. Gordon Johnston made a specular line save for Canada with a handful of minutes left and the Canadians earned the win they were expecting, before watching with interest the match between Russia and USA that will decide the final standings in pool B.
USA vs. Russia: 2-4 (ht: 0-4)
Last match of Pool B saw a classic sport rivalry between the USA and Russia, with both teams still in contention to top the group with a win. Russia pressured early and took control of the proceedings by Anton Kornilov in the 8th minute. They kept pushing their opponent back on their heels, but the USA held tight, even though they had few chances of getting out of their own zone in the opening quarter.
Play became more balance in second quarter, with chances at both ends. The Americans were keeping their composure and defensive structure, and it took a powerful penalty-corner by Denis Shchipachev in the 22nd minute to finally beat again Christopher Rea in the USA goal. The break seemed to deflate the American spirits and Shchipachev immediately added another penalty-corner for good measure.
Russia scored again by Pavel Golubev and the 4-goal gap at half-time seemed like an unsurmountable obstacle for the North Americans, who were having trouble finding ways into the Russian defensive block.
The USA pulled back one goal early in second half, with a clinical finish by Christian Linney, and Pat Harris had a super chance soon after alone in front of Marat Gafarov in the Russian goal. The Americans were now dictating pace and forced a penalty-corner; it was scored after a complicated (and possibly unplanned) option that found Alex Cunningham alone at the right post to slam the ball in goal. USA survived a penalty-corner and looked very much back in the game at the end of the third quarter (2-4).
The Americans kept pushing in the last quarter and were all over their opponent’s circle. They earned a penalty-corner but Gafarov pulled a spectacular stick save to maintain his team’s 2-goal cushion. With five minutes left in the match, the USA pulled their goal-keeper for an additional field player. They even had a double numerical advantage with Russia on a green card and their gambit paid off with another penalty-corner, but it was cleared by a Russian defenders. Russia closed ranks in the final minutes of the match to protect their endangered lead.
The win put them alone at the top of pool B, while the loss pushed the USA down to third place, behind Canada.
Ireland vs. Italy: 2-0 (ht: 1-0)
Ireland, still unbeaten in this competition, wanted a win to secure their spot at the top of pool A without having to wait for the result of the last match between Austria and Chile. They were immediately all over the Italian circle and scored early by Eugene Magee, but failed at four penalty-corners and could not break further the disciplined Italian defense in the first quarter.
Same pattern prevailed in second quarter, with Ireland totally controlling play and Italy studiously defending. Ireland was definitively off-target on their penalty-corners and were kept at bay by Francesco Padovani having a strong afternoon in the Italian goal. They reached half-time with a meagre one-goal advantage to show for all their efforts and domination.
Ireland were not luckier in third quarter even though they camped nearly permanently in the Italian half. They scrambled another penalty-corner and their lead was still hanging on a single tiny thread after 45’ of play.
Ireland finally broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute by Shane O'Donoghue, penetrating aggressively in the circle and beating Padovani with a clinical low reverse shot.
Even though the result of the match was never in real question, the Irish will wonder about their lack of efficiency to substantiate their domination, especially on a large number of penalty-corners, while the surprising Italian team once again fulfilled their pre-tournament goal to be competitive in every game.
Chile vs. Austria: 1-5 (ht: 1-4)
A second win for Austria would secure them second place in Pool A, while the Chilean, without a point in the competition so far, needed a win with a large margin to escape last place in the group. The South Americans immediately set to the task at hand and promptly earned a penalty-corner, powerfully converted by Nicolas Renz.
The Austrians tried to react but the Chileans were boosted by their lead and pressing very fast on the Austrians midfield. It took a low penalty-corner by Michael Körper, surprising Adrian Henriquez in the Chilean goal, to level the score just before the end of first quarter.
Second quarter started as an observation round, with neither team wanting to commit or expose themselves too much. The Chilean defense was fooled in the 26th minute by an unexpected cross into the circle that found Alexander Bele alone, with an easy deflection into Henriquez’s goal. Back in the lead and with Chile short two players on green cards, Austria added a penalty-corner by Dominic Uher and a goal on the buzzer by Robert Bele, building a comfortable and seemingly unsurmountable 3-goal cushion.
They increased their lead in the 38th minute through another penalty-corner by Michael Körper and the match was as well as sealed with still one quarter to go. Austria cruised through the last quarter of the match and will now face the USA in quarter-finals.
Schedule for Day 4 (Thursday March 5): quarter-finals
QF1: Ireland vs. Trinidad & Tobago
QF2: Canada vs. Italy
QF3: Austria vs. USA
QF4: Russia vs. Chile
