China put the disappointment
of their group games behind them as they thrashed South Africa 4-0 in a Women's
Hockey World Cup playoff on Friday.
China, once tipped as hot favorites for the World Cup but only finished fifth
in Group A, will play off against the winners between South Korea and India for
the ninth-place on Saturday.
The Chinese girls, who played a compact and pressure game, spent only 14
minutes to open the scoring through Ren Ye, and four minutes later, their
captain Ma Yibo made it 2-0 from a penalty corner play.
Their third goal came in the 29th minute when Sun Zhen poked the ball past
South African goalkeeper, and veteran striker Tang Chunling put the icing on the
cake in the 70th minute with an adept shot.
Chinese coach Kim Chang-back, lugubrious throughout the group games, still
put on a grim face after the game.
"The South Africa's defense is not well-organized giving us a lot of space to
score. I think that's the main reason why we produced so many goals," he said.
"I am not satisfied with my players' performance, as they are still far from
their best," he said.
German coach Markus Weise was left distraught after his side, who arrived in
Madrid as one of the serious title contenders, lost to the United States 1-0 in
another playoff due to a goal from Tiffany Snow in the 37th minute.
"I don't know what's gone wrong with my side, if I had known it, I would have
changed it," he said in despair.
The German set-up won the Champions Trophy in July after beating China into
the second place, but they suffered the same slide as China in the World Cup.
"I was supposed to know what's with us, but I don't really know," Weise said.
"I think we've got 25 short corners throughout the tournament, but scored
only one, it's very abnormal," he added.
