SPORTS

Korea beat Argentina with late goal

March 03, 2010 21:17 IST

- 12th Men's Hockey World Cup

Drag-flicker Hyun Woo Nam scored in the dying moments as Korea rallied from a goal down to beat a fighting Argentina 2-1 in their second Pool A match of the men's hockey World Cup in Delhi on Wednesday.

Lee Nam Yong put the Koreans on level terms in the 62nd minute, while Hyun converted a penalty-corner just 54 seconds from the hooter to give the Asian gianst full points from the match.

Facundo Callioni scored the lone goal for Argentina in the 53rd minute.

In the earlier match, defending champions Germany trounced Canada 6-0.

Korea showed great fighting spirit and scored twice within the last 10 minutes to snatch victory. The Asian champions in fact sparkled in the final 15 minutes of the match, which was dominated by Argentina. The South Americans were the more attacking side in the first half during which they had two big scoring chances in the initial minutes but on both the occasion the forwardline disappointed.

The Koreans too had a few chances, mainly through counter attacks, but their strikers lacked the finishing ability, as both teams failed to break the deadlock in the first period.

The second half started on a similar note as both the teams fought tooth and nail but still failed to score despite having numerous chances.

However, it was Argentina who finally broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute through Callioni from a Juan Martin Lopez pass. It was incidentally Argentina's first goal in the tournament, having lost to the Netherlands 0-3 in their tournament opener.

Just when it seemed that the Argentines would walk away with full points, Young drew parity after he was beautifully set up by his captain Jong Ho Seo.

As if it was not enough, Korea scored the winner in the final minute of the match when Nam's drag-flick beat Argentine custodian Tomas Juan Espinosa all ends up.

Korea earned their sixth penalty corner after claiming that the ball hit an Argentine foot inside the circle. The video umpire confirmed the foul and Nam was spot on with the low flick to the delight of his teammates.

Korea face New Zealand in their next pool match on Friday, while Argentina takes on defending champions Germany.

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