Hockey World League Final: Australia beat Germany 3-0; to face Argentina in final

BHUBANESWAR: Australia defeated a depleted Germany 3-0 to enter their second consecutive final of the Hockey World League Final on Saturday. Goals from Dylan Wotherspoon (42'), Jeremy Haywards (48') and Tom Wickham (60') helped the defending champions set up a summit clash with Argentina which will be played on Sunday.
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The defeat means Germany will now square off against hosts India in the bronze medal match also to be played on Sunday.A combination of injuries and illness meant Germany started the match with just 13 players with two of them available as substitutes. However, despite being short of manpower and tiring legs, the four-time Olympic champions matches Australia shot for shot.
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The first two quarters were evenly contested and despite repeated incursions from either side, they ended goalless. Germany won as many as five penalty corners but either their drag-flickers failed or the Australian rushers defended well to keep them from scoring. But to their credit, every time they made a circle entry, they made it count with a shot on the goal. And their spirited effort kept Australia quiet for the better part of the game. Mark Appel, their goalkeeper, was playing as an outfield player because of them being short of players - four of them suffering from fever.
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The capacity crowd acknowledged their effort but soon Australia broke through their wall. Dylan Wotherspoon received a ball inside the D on the left and Tobias Walker came forward to block the angle. The Australian no. 7 beat the German goalie with pace and the ball went between his legs to crash inside the cage. Six minutes later, the Kookaburras doubled their lead converting a penalty corner after Jeremy Edwards' flick ricocheted off Niklas Bruns to sail over the goalkeeper.
And with just over 10 minutes remaining, Germany opted for an 11th outfield player in their desperation for goals. Phillip Huber with the goalkeeping privileges made an excellent tackle to stop Lochlan Sharp from scoring. But Australia got their third goal in the final minute with Tim Wickham getting the final touch in front of an open goal.