IKF U23 WKC Day 2

Games on day 2 were not all as one-sided as those on the opening day. The match of the day in the first part of Sunday’s play was the game between holders, and firm favourites, The Netherlands and England. The Dutch were made to work hard for their openings by an England team that defended extremely well. The match was really decided by the greater ability of the Dutch to score under pressure and for the England team to be severely punished whenever they surrendered possession with a misplaced pass. On balance the final goal difference could be thought of as rather flattering the Dutch, they won by eight goals (22 – 14), but the spirited play of the English, especially in defence, won over most of the neutral spectators.

South Africa vs China opened the day and the Chinese eventually made their greater athleticism count by going on to win 25 – 14. The second match between Australia and Hong Kong China fluctuated with who led the match but Hong Kong opened up a gap in the second half and, despite a late Australian rally, managed to hold on to win 21 – 19. The third game of the day, however, emphasised the European teams’ superiority over most of the teams from Asia. Germany, 4th in the European Championship last year, comfortably beat India, who was runners up in the Asia-Oceania Championship, by 34 – 9.