Spain sails into final

Wales       3     Chile       2 
France      3 (5) Scotland 3 (4)
US          3     Russia      2 
(SF) Spain  5     Poland      1

By S.Thyagarajan

EDINBURGH,   JULY  27.  Creative,  constructive,  competent   and 
palpably convincing in approach, Spain produced a flawless second 
half  performance to sail into the final of the World Cup  hockey 
qualifier  championship  here at the Sports  Centre,  Peffermill. 
Spain led 2-1 at half-time.

Quite  predictably, it developed into an absorbing  contest  with 
the  Spaniards  injecting an element of ingenuity  and  artistry, 
thanks  to  the splendid work on the flank by Juan  Escarre  with 
Xavier  Arnau  and  Pol  Amat giving the  frontline  a  touch  of 
authority.   Progressively,  Spain  gained  the   upperhand   and 
dominated  almost  throughout  the second half.  In  fact,  Spain 
should  have  up by a goal or two at half-time than  the  2-1  it 
managed to record in this half. Twice the cross bar and the  post 
came in the way in the closing minutes of the first half. 

Poland laid more emphasis on defence than threading sallies. Only 
when  the goal fell from a quick shot by Xavier Arnau off a  pass 
from  Juan Escarre did the Poles begin to attack. A  few  sinuous 
runs  by Pioter Mikula caused panic in the Spanish  defence.  But 
goal-keeper  Harrerra  proved a stumbling block effecting  a  few 
nice   saves  from  the  penalty  corners  strike  by   Eugeniusz 
Gaczkowski, who eventually managed to pump in the equaliser. 

Spain pitched up the octave of attack and soon enmeshed the rival 
defence  in pressure. Four penalty corners surfaced in the  space 
of  10  minutes before half-time. Goal-keeper Pobuta was  at  his 
wit's  end  to smother the pressure, and was saved twice  by  the 
goal-post and cross bar. He did save a couple of shots from Jordi 
Quintana. But in the last minute of the first half, Spain hoisted 
the  lead.  Juan Escarre put ahead an adroit  pass  which  Eduard 
Tabau slugged in, leaving Poubula nonplussed by the angle. 

Minutes  after  resumption  a stick check on  Joseph  Sanchez  by 
Eugeniusz  resulted  in a stroke, which Juan  Escarre  converted. 
Then  Juan  Escarre produced another goal from a  penalty  corenr 
scrimmage. But the best of them all came from Eduard Tabau  whose 
solo run on the left flank caught everyone in the Polish  defence 
off  guard.  After  ambling in, Tabau executed a  whiplash  of  a 
backhander that gave goal-keeper Pobuta no chance. 

In  a nerve wracking duel on which a lot depended  for  Scotland,  
France had the last laugh in the penalty shoot out 5-4 after  the 
teams  were deadlocked at 3-3 at the end of the regulation  time. 
Scotland  needed  a win to challenge Wales for  the  Commonwealth 
Games.  But  in the end, Wales, which beat Chile in  the  day  is 
bound  to  be  ahead  of  Scotland and  ensure  a  place  in  the 
Commonwealth  Games.  Wales  will take on  France  for  the  9-10 
positions tomorrow, while Scotland is scheduled to play Chile for 
the  11-12  places. As the spectators, a majority  of  whom  were 
supporters of Scotland, the feeling of disappointment can well be 
imagined. 

A goal-less first half gave the Scots time enough to fight  back, 
which they did till the final minute, scoring the third when only 
18  seconds  remained  from the hooter  through  Philip  Webster. 
Thereafter the contest went into golden goal period of 15 minutes 
and that part too did not produce a decisive result. In the  tie-
breaker,  the French stroked in five, against the four by  Scots. 
In  the  end, it all proved so near and yet so far for  the  host 
unit. Ferderic Soyez (2) and Cedric Dagostino scored for  France, 
while Micheal Leonard, Niall Scott and Philip Webster netted  for 
Scotland. 

In  the  tie breaker, Gerome Branquart,  Ferderic  Soyex,  Cedric 
Dagostino, Nicolas Jeanjean, and Patrice Daleton, were successful 
for   France,  while  Laurence  Docherty,  Niall   Scott,   Scott 
Macartney, and Ralph David scored. 

The  focus  on  the  9-16  classification,  undoubtedly,  was  on 
Scotland and Wales. The question centred around who among the two 
will  make it to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester next  year. 
Although  there has been an intense debate over the mode  adopted 
to  identify the qualifiers to what is considered to be the  most 
important  multi-sporting  event  after  the  Olympics,  Scotland 
reckoned  its  chances as bright not only  for  the  Commonwealth 
Games but to the World Cup as well. 

Having  failed in the first objective of being in the top  seven, 
Scotland  perforce had to press its case for the  second  option, 
that  is, a place in the Commonwealth Games. The FIH had made  it 
clear that whoever between Scotland and Wales finishes ahead will 
be  at Manchester. Helped by a consistently good performances  by 
the principal striker, Laurence Docherty, Scotland recorded  some 
impressive  victories, although the locals were,  understandably, 
were  disappointed when the team lost to Wales by a goal in  Pool 
G. 

It  is  not  merely  a question of  Scotland  or  Wales  for  the 
Commonwealth,  but  even for others too, notably for  teams  like 
India and Malaysia, the issue is hanging in balance. The  picture 
at  the  moment  seems  hazy,  in the  absence  of  a  clear  cut 
guidelines  to  determining the qualifiers. If Australia  as  the 
holder   and   England  as  the  host  are  automatic,   then   a 
representation  will  have to be given to the  regions.  If  this 
criteria  is accepted then, New Zealand from Ocenia, Canada  from 
the  Americas,  South  Africa from Africa are  likely  to  be  in  
without  difficulty. From Asia, there are three  claimants,  each 
pitching  on its credentials. The feeling here is that  Pakistan, 
as  the  highest placed Asian team in the Olympics-fourth  to  be 
precise-should  be  an automatic choice as also on the  basis  of 
being  the  runner  up in the Asia Cup, which  South  Korea  won. 
However,  South  Korea is not part of the  Commonwealth.  If  two 
teams  are to taken, then India becomes a  qualifier.  Malaysia's 
claims  lies in the team being the silver medallist to  Australia 
in the last Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur. 

The  final eight will be known tomorrow when the Games  Committee 
meets at Manchester.

lThe  results:  9-12: Wales 3 ( James Odgen, Simon  Organ,  Jamie 
Westerman)  beat  Chile  2 (Pablo  Kuhlenthal,  Felipe  Montegu); 
France 3 (5) beat Scotland 3 (4); 13-16: United States 3 ( Jarred 
Martin 2, Daraspreet Kianth) beat Russia 2 (Uri Safonov 2). 

Tomorrow's matches: (5-8): New Zealand v Japan (2.30 p.m.); India 
v Canada (5 p.m.). 





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