The Hague, Netherlands: Robbert Kemperman scored in the dying minutes on Tuesday as the Netherlands struggled to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over South Korea at the hockey World Cup.
The Koreans scored early through a Nam Hyun-woo penalty corner and then defended stubbornly for the rest of the match. Jeroen Hertzberger brought the scores level in the 21st minute, also from a penalty corner, before Sander de Wijn dribbled to the line and pulled the ball back for Kemperman to fire home his last-gasp winner.
In other Group B matches, New Zealand went top of the standings by making it two wins out of two with a comprehensive 5-0 demolition of South Africa, while Argentina handed Germany a surprise 1-0 defeat.
In women’s play, the United States held Argentina to a thrilling 2-2 draw. Midfielder Katie Reinprecht put the US ahead in the 27th minute before Silvina D’Ella equalised for Argentina three minutes before halftime.
Veteran star Luciana Aymar scored from an acute angle to give Argentina the lead in the 62nd minute, but the Americans showed their resilience by levelling just two minutes later when striker Kelsey Kolojejchick slapped in the ball at the far post.
In other women’s matches, Germany beat South Africa 3-1, while No 3-ranked England slipped to their second defeat of the tournament, losing 3-0 to China. The results left four teams level on points in Group B, with Argentina leading the group because it has scored more goals than China, which has the same goal difference.
Ahead of Wednesday’s rest day, the Netherlands leads Group A from Australia on goal difference, with both sides having a perfect record after two matches.
