Bhubaneswar, 9 December 2014: Argentina ended their Pool B campaign on six points following their 3-0 (2-0) win over Germany in the opening game of day three of the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar.

After a chanceless first quarter, Argentina upped the ante in the second. Captain Matias Paredes was at the centre of everything and he opened the scoring with a mid-circle smash.

Gonzalo Peillat drew a brilliant diving save from Felix Reuss before Joaquin Menini continued his fine form with a great strike, clipping into the top corner after Paredes robbed the ball on halfway. He laid on a perfect back-door pass for Menini to race clear, making it 2-0.

Germany had a couple of better openings in the third quarter of this tight, cagey battle, with Florian Fuchs firing across the face of goal while Juan Vivaldi made some tidy saves while his defence kept out a penalty corner.

Christopher Wesley shot a sharp, close-range effort wide early in the fourth quarter and then miscued a shot to continue Germany’s frustrations. And they were caught once again from a quick free on 49 minutes which Ignacio Ortiz popped past Reuss for 3-0 with Manu Brunet on hand to watch the ball go in. From there, the European side had their moments but could not get one back and they end the group on three points courtesy of their 1-0 win over India last Saturday.

Speaking on the team’s performance, Germany Captain Tobias Hauke said, “We played well with young players but we were unable to convert and hence this disappointing result. They were very good in their defense and which made  it difficult for us but we will put form here the aim is to win the quarter final and enter the semis.

Speaking on the loss, Germany Coach Weise Markus said, “It’s very disappointing the way team performed today against Argentina. We failed to defend and which helped them to score and on the other hand we lost lots of chances to convert. I will say, they were good in both attack & defense throughout the game. We will work on our weakness and strive hard for coming games”.

Argentina Captain and Man of the match Matias Paredes said, “I am very satisfied woth our performance and we kept the pressure on them throughout the game and converted the opportunities into goals and which helped us win this game. From here we will have to ensure that we do not lose momentum and keep this form in the next phase”.

The Hero Men’s Champions Trophy 2014 is getting aired live on Ten Sports.

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