Down Under neighbours big winners on day four

It was the day where the leading teams sat out and the lower groupings tangled with various prizes on hand.

For the crossovers where teams have a chance to make the quarterfinals, New Zealand and Australia kept their hopes alive with the Kiwis downing fellow Commonwealth nation Canada 12-9 and the Aussies defeating European upstart Croatia 11-8.

In the lower grouping, which will decide the minor placings, there were some angry teams who vented their frustrations at not making the crossovers with Japan sending off India 28-2 and Portugal deflating Chile 25-4 in Group G.

France blasted South Africa out of the water 25-6 in their Group H encounter.

Match Reports

Round 1-16 Crossovers

CANADA 9 NEW ZEALAND 12

New Zealand was a team in control at all times, from the opening goal and only allowing Canada a sniff at 1-1. The Kiwis led 3-2, 7-4 and 8-6 at the breaks and then took the 8-7 advantage at the top of the fourth to 11-7 before a little trading that had New Zealand at 12-8 by 1:11. Canada scored a consolation goal with 13 seconds left on the clock.

New Zealand was particularly deadly from outside and Darcy Spark scored five of her six goals with the assistance of binoculars. Her wide-left score for 10-7 had the Canadians stumped. Her closest shot came off the left-post position after a cross pass. To Canada’s credit, it kept in the play, four times coming within one goal. Sisters Aggie Weston and Eve Weston converted a penalty shot each for New Zealand .

New Zealand saw the potential threat in Serena Browne and nullified her with the first kickout and expulsion from the match on three fouls at 3:11 in the last quarter. She gained just the one goal after coming into the match with a tally of 11.

Match Heroes:
Spark, with her six goals, and Emma Lawson, who kept Canada afloat with four goals to make it 12 in Coimbra.

Turning Point:
New Zealand’s persistence with attacking goals and the three unanswered goals in the final period that gained the first four-goal margin.

Bottom Line:
Both teams had their moments, but for Canada it was not to be but it has a strong challenge with Netherlands on Tuesday to gain a quarterfinal berth. And for New Zealand, the promise of a higher position beckons as it will take on Brazil to make the quarterfinals.

CROATIA 8 AUSTRALIA 11

Australia had to come from 3-0 down to defeat Croatia, a team that is building in the rankings. Croatia had the advantage for some time, leading 3-2 at the quarter break, hanging on at 4-4 by halftime and 6-6 at the final break. Australia’s opportunity came at the top of the fourth when Nioka Thomas, who fired in five centre-forward goals against India the day before, scored from the right-hand-catch position on the first attack. Magdalena Butic responded for the fourth tied score. However, Australian senior squad member Sienna Green plundered the first of three consecutive Aussie goals for 10-7 at 5:18 — three in well under two minutes with the second from the penalty line.

Iva Rozic replied with her third on extra-man attack to give some hope, but Thomas claimed her third and ninth for the week for what was the winner at 2:51. The day before it was all centre forward goals and today two were from outside and the first on a centre-forward drive. Neither side could find the net in the dying minutes with Australia not too worried.

Match Heroes:
Tayla Dawkins had three of the first six goals, grabbing the equalising goals at five and six, thus was named best in pool. Thomas and Green added three goals to their tallies.

Turning Point:
Thomas’ goal at the start of the fourth that finally had Australia in front. It provided the impetus for Green’s rampage.

Bottom Line:
Australia has the runs on the board while Croatia is just emerging as a leading women’s nation.

Group G

JAPAN 28 INDIA 2

Japan replied to its disappointment of the day before when it crashed to Croatia and with it any chance of going through to the medal rounds by hammering India. It started with the biggest quarter of the championships — surpassing Australia’s 11-0 against the same opponent — and rushed to 21-0 by halftime — the biggest halftime margin — and 24-1 by the final break. Japan surged home with a 4-1 final quarter. This was all about Japan and India struggled to quell the Japanese rage.

India was not allowed to shoot from inside the six metres and had to rely on two goals from seven metres on the left side from Prachetha Rao and  at 24-1 and Safwa Sakeer at 28-2.The first six goals came on counter out of 13 in total before India closed down these chances and Japan went through the motions, electing to set up plays. The best play was the centre-forward drive, which it used on five occasions. One of Maho Kobayashi’s goals came when she charged the goalkeeper and smacked the ball out of her hands into goal at 8-0.

Match Heroes:
Kobayashi collected seven goals — six in the first quarter — and team-mate Shoka Fukuda five.

Turning Point:
Going 20-0 says it all.

Bottom Line:
Japan should have been playing in the higher echelon but for the poor showing against Croatia. India, once again saw how hard it is to score goals against a better opponent.

PORTUGAL 25 CHILE 4

Home team Portugal did what Japan delivered earlier and that was another huge victory in front of an adoring crowd. Portugal promised itself a higher showing at this event and produced a second victory, going 8-1, 3-0, 8-2 and 6-1 through the quarters. The crowd was thrilled and cheered vociferously with every goal. Chile found the Portuguese hard to handle and struggled with shooting and giving up easy steals.

Match Heroes:
Madalena Lousa made the most of the occasion to score a tournament-high 10 goals with the last coming at 20-3 at the start of the fourth period. She was assisted with some excellent passing, even with cross passes in front of goal. Five came on counter. Maria Machado was in the thick of it with five goals — three on counter.

Turning Point:
Portugal moving from 2-1 to 15-1, keeping Chile scoreless for nearly 16 minutes. It was another 10-minute drought for Chile to follow.

Bottom Line:
Portugal now has two victories from its world championship campaign and two in history. More can come. Chile probably cannot see light at the end of the tunnel, but to be on the stage is the start.

Group H

SOUTH AFRICA 6 FRANCE 25

France was another team to fire in goals at will, against South Africa this time. The 8-0 start that became 8-1 at the quarter break, was what France needed to appease the demons after the six-goal loss to Canada on day three. The margin went to 12-4 by the turn and 17-6 by the third buzzer. France produced another 8-0 spurt in the final quarter for 25-6. The normally high-scoring Ema Vernoux, who had nine goals coming into the match, hit the bar with a penalty shot early in the third period, dived on to the rebound, fought to get a shot away as three defenders pounced on her when the goalkeeper snatched the ball out of her hand and clumsily fumbled it into goal for 13-4.

Match Heroes:
Camelia Bouloukbachi was again the driving force with her six goals. Two came from centre-forward shots and a third on a drive into two metres. She is the complete player. Juliette Dhalluin and Valentine Hertaux notched four goals apiece. Bouloukbachi and Dhalluin now have 13 goals each from just three matches — three more than Ema Vernoux.

Turning Point:
That 8-0 start was what France needed and deny South Africa any chance.

Bottom Line:
France is much better than the rankings show and it should go strong against Kazakhstan on Tuesday if it wishes to make the quarterfinals. South Africa has it all ahead of it.

Progress points

Group G: Japan 6, Portugal 3, Chile 0. India 0.
Group H: France 3, Kazakhstan 0, South Africa 0.

Tuesday Schedule

Group G
Match 32, 10:30, 3F India v 3D Chile

Group H
Match 34, 12:00, 2F Kazakhstan v 2D France

Group G
Match 31, 13:30, 2E Japan v 2C Portugal

Crossovers
Match 35, 15:30, L29 Canada v 3A Netherlands
Match 36, 17:00, L30 Croatia v 3B Italy
Match 37, 18:30, W29 New Zealand v 4A Brazil
Match 38, 20:00, W30 Australia v 4B Israel