Australia and Netherlands get back to winning ways on Day 2 of the FIH Hockey Junior

 

Lausanne, Switzerland: Day 2 of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2023 was an eventful one with Netherlands and Australia getting their first wins of the tournament. India and Germany played out a thriller with the Germans piping India by a narrow 4-3 margin. 

While the Netherlands, Korea, Belgium, and England sit comfortably on top of their respective pools after the end of the second day’s play, teams like Australia, India, the United States, and Chile are also in the race to grab those spots.

Let’s rewind all the six matches that took place on the second day of the competition in Chile.

England vs New Zealand (Full-Time Score: 5-0)

The opening Match of the day was a lop-sided affair as England blanked New Zealand 5-0. New Zealand earned five penalty corners but failed to convert any, courtesy individual brilliance from English goalkeeper Evie Wood.

Lottie Bingham opened up the scoring in the seventh minute, followed by two consecutive goals from Maddie Long. Lizzie Pocknell scored an easy goal in the 52^nd minute, while skipper Beth Alexander netted one in the dying minutes to ensure easy three points for her team.

After the match, Maddie Long said, “I think we played brilliant hockey today and scored some great team goals. We have been working hard as a team and will make sure we put up great performances in this entire tournament.”

United States vs Japan (Full-Time Score: 2-1)

United States stunned Japan after being down 1-0 to win 1-2, courtesy heroic from the 17-year-old Charlotte Bruder. Ai Hiramitsu scored from a penalty corner in the 13^th minute to open the scoring for Japan but Bruder showed her class as she netted two goals in two minutes to put the United States ahead.

Japan tried hard, penetrating multiple times into the opposition’s circle but the United States’ defense proved too strong for them. Japan next plays New Zealand while the United States will have to face a strong English side.

Describing her happiness of winning the first match in the FIH Hockey Junior Women’s World Cup 2023, Charlotte Bruder said, “This tough win is going to motivate us a lot for the upcoming matches. We as a unit will look forward to creating more attacks and strengthening our defense to play against other top teams in this competition.”

Belgium vs Canada (Full-Time Score: 8-0)

Belgium won their second consecutive match to climb to the top of Pool C as they beat a clueless Canada side 8-0. Canada never really looked in the game from the first minute as the Belgians scored three goals in the first quarter itself.

Astrid Bonami, Marthe-Marie Greets, and Louise Dewaet scored two goals each while Perrine De Clerck and Maura Cornelissens netted one each past the Canadian goal.

Player of the Match Louise Dewaet reflected on her team’s hard work and is hopeful that the team will also win their next match against India to finish on the top of Pool C.

India vs Germany (Full-Time Score: 3-4)

The most breathtaking contest of the day was between these two teams who gave it their all. India was coming into the match with a historic 12-0 win against Canada, while Germany had lost their last match to Belgium 0-6.

India opened up the scoring going 2-0 up via Anuu and Ropni Kumari’s PC conversion in the 11^th and 14^th minute respectively but it was then the Germans who took control of the game and played some great hockey to level up the score and then take the lead. Although Mumtaz Khan tried to get India back into the game with another goal, it wasn’t enough.

“We had such a bad start to the tournament and are proud of how we bounced back today to win against a strong Indian side. Hopefully, we will be able to advance to the knock-out stages,” said the Player of the Match – Laura Pluth, who scored the second goal for Germany.

South Africa vs Netherlands (Full-Time Score: 0-6)

The Netherlands climbed to the top of Pool A as they scored six past the South African defense. Mikki Roberts showed her class as she scored a hat-trick, with all three goals from penalty corners. Trijntje Beljaars backed up Mikki her brilliance as she also scored two goals from penalty corners.

The ball possession was with the Dutch team for most of the time and their forwards made many circle penetrations securing 12 penalty corners.

Hat-trick star Mikki Roberts who was also adjudged as the Player of the Match said that they didn’t play their best hockey yesterday when they drew against Australia but are happy to be back on track and secure those three points.

Australia vs Chile (Full-Time Score: 2-0)

Martin Castro’s Chile was high on confidence after winning their opening match against South Africa, but the Aussies proved to be too strong for them. Hannah Cullum-Sanders opened up the scoring for the Aussies in the sixth minute with Tatum Stewart scoring her second goal of the tournament in the 44^th minute.

Although the hosts tried to make some circle entries, they were denied goals by the Australian defense. Chile will next face a strong Netherlands side to fight for a spot in the knock-outs.

20-year-old Amy Lawton who was the star for Australia in the entire match controlling the game with her incredible skills earned the Player of the Match award.

 

To see the current pool standings after Day 2, click here.

To see the full match schedule, click here.

 

FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2023 – 30 December 2023

Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional

 

Result: Match 7 

England 5-0 New Zealand

Player of the Match: Maddie Long (ENG)

Umpires: Magali Sergeant (BEL) and Minami Inamoto (JPN)

Result: Match 8 

United States 2-1 Japan

Player of the Match: Charlotte Bruder (USA)

Umpires: Durga Devi (IND) and Kamile Mockaityte (LTU)

Result: Match 9

Belgium 8-0 Canada

Player of the Match: Louise Dewaet (BEL)

Umpires: Victoria Pazos (PAR) and Sandra Adell (ESP)

Result: Match 10

India 3-4 Germany 

Player of the Match: Laura Pluth (GER)

Umpires: Jianjun Chen (CHN) and Katrina Turner (NZL)

Result: Match 11

South Africa 0-6 Netherlands

Player of the Match: Mikki Roberts (NED)

Umpires: Kristy Robertson (AUS) and Veronica Villafane (ARG)

Result: Match 12

Australia 2-0 Chile

Player of the Match: Amy Lawton (AUS)

Umpires: Junko Wagatsuma (JPN) and Lizelotte Walter (NED)