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Aussies slump to German field hockey squad

Australia slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Germany while the Netherlands saw off China 3-1 on the second day of the women's Champions Trophy field hockey tournament in Germany on Sunday.

Aussies slump to German field hockey squad
German Lina Geyer fights for the ball on Sunday. Photo: DPA

Australia lacked the determination to win the 50/50 contests which gave Germany the scoring opportunities to lead 2-0 at the break through a field goal by Anke Kuhn and a penalty corner conversion by Anneke Bohmert.

“They were all over us in the first half. We lacked composure and we didn’t play well and allowed Germany to control the ball through the middle of the pitch,” said Australia coach Frank Murray.

Megan Rivers scrambled a goal five minutes before the end for Australia who earned a penalty corner in the last minute, but the hit from the top of the circle was penalized for being too high.

Fanny Rinne, Germany’s captain for the day, felt the pressure in the last five minutes.

“We played well in the first half but Australia put us under a lot of pressure after they scored and I am happy that in the end we had one goal more,” Rinne said.

Netherlands’ decisive 3-1 over China was crafted by Marilyn Agliotti deflecting in two short corners and Minke Smabers converting a penalty stroke following China’s early goal by Yudiao Zhao.

“These are surprising results for my team and our way of playing is also a surprise for me, so I am happy with the result and the way we played,” said Dutch coach Marc Lammers.

Kim Changback, China’s coach, focussed on the deficiencies of China’s forwards in the loss.

“Three of our forwards did not play well which is why we played so negatively,” said a furious Kim. “We did not play our style of very fast hockey.”

Argentina, the world number two, were fortunate to win 2-1 over Japan in a low quality match marred by numerous midfield turnovers by both teams and poor penetration into the circle at both ends.

“Argentina didn’t play well with the ball as the players lacked confidence and lost possession much more than they usually do,” said coach Gabriel Minadeo.

“We won the match, but we were lucky to do so.”

Seung Jin Yoo, Japan’s coach, believes his team are improving against the South Americans.

“In the previous Champions Trophy (January 2007) we lost 3-1 to Argentina, so a 2-1 loss is an improvement,” Yoo said.

Argentina scored through Agustina Bouza in the middle of the first half with a looping shot that deflected off a defender’s stick over the head of Japan’s goalkeeper Ikuko Okamura.

Claudia Burkart slammed in Argentina’s second penalty corner past the feet of Okamura.

Japan attacked relentlessly in the last five minutes, and Kaori Chiba scored a field goal in the dying moments of the game.

Monday is a rest day in the tournament, while Tuesday sees China meet Australia and Japan play Germany.

CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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