Kelsey Kolojejchick moves the ball past Julia Muller of Germany in the quarterfinal field hockey game at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Hockey Centre on August 15, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. It’s Argentina’s first time in the semifinals in 11 Olympics, and Belgium last played for a medal in 1928.
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But that was always going to be a hard ask as New Zealand scored a goal in each of the first two quarters to get out to a 2-0 lead, one Australia never really looked like clawing back.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Argentina and Belgium gatecrashed the Olympic field hockey festival and reached their first men’s final together on Tuesday.
“This is insane”, said Argentina midfielder Lucas Rey, who could have also spoken for Belgium. “We knew we could do this, but it’s still insane”.
Team USA maintained the intensity in the closing minutes, as Bam sped off for a fast break with a clear lane to the cage, but was taken out by a German defender.
It was the first Olympics since 1984 that Australia’s sides had failed to secure a hockey medal. But they lost their quarterfinal late Monday, and 14 hours later, from out of their considerable shadow, Los Leones, the Lions, came of age by ending the reign of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion.
Gonzalo Peillat, Argentina’s drag flick expert, led his team to a 5-2 victory with a hat trick.
After Bakker’s early goal, Australia dominated possession in the second period, but the Netherlands consistently made good defensive plays in the circle. That’s when Germany replaced its goalie for an extra forward to try and limit the humiliation. Moritz Furste put a penalty corner shot through the goalkeeper’s legs with 4 1/2 minutes left, and hit in a second with 41 seconds to go.
McAleese said the players handled the agony in their own various ways immediately after the game.
“But we believed in ourselves”.
Not until the last minute did Argentina coach Carlos Retegui, responsible for numerous women’s triumphs, finally accept he’d masterminded the men’s biggest success yet, and began hugging his assistants.
Early in the fourth period, Belgium regained their two-goal advantage courtesy of a brilliant counter-attack, which ended up with Van Aubel scoring.
It’s just not the team their deliriously happy compatriots thought would be playing for a gold medal.
The PA system broke down, so the national anthems couldn’t be played.
Germany, known for their discipline and structure, were caught at the turnovers as Argentine forwards Augustin Mazzilli and Vila pressed them higher, forcing the defence of the European team to make errors. “The Kiwis got their first chance … it was a penalty corner, and they put it away”, he said.
The Dutch pulled one back before the half-time interval through Mink der Weerden.
Belgium continued to cut through midfield, set up chances, while strangling the favorites. “When it comes down to these games you’ve got to be at your best or you get punished”. “The energy we had, the desire to go to the semifinal, was really big today”.
“Even though the hockey world may have written us off we always had the natural belief in our group”.
“We are doing the ideal tournament, the tournament for life and it s at the right moment, at the Olympics”.
“We never give up”, Furste said. “The moment when it counted we were unbelievably lucky”. I think we’ve never beaten them in an official tournament.
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The Hockeyroos have been eliminated from the medal race at the quarter-final stage of the Rio Olympics, losing 4-2 against New Zealand on Tuesday night.
