Hockey World Cup 2018: Germany beat Malaysia 5-3 to book quarterfinal berth in World Cup
Bhubaneswar, Dec 9: Olympic bronze medallist Germany defeated Malaysia 5-3 in a keenly-contested match to maintain their all-win record and seal a direct quarterfinal spot by topping Pool D at the men's hockey World Cup here on Sunday.
Germany finished their pool engagements with a maximum of nine points from three games.
Tim Herzbruch (2nd, 59th minutes) and Christopher Ruhr (14th, 18th) scored two goals each while Marco Miltkau (39th) struck the other one for the world number 6 Germans.
Malaysia's all three goals came from penalty corner conversions by Razie Rahim (26th, 42nd) and Nabil Noor (28th).
By virtue of this win, the Germans joined two-time champions Australia, Olympic champions Argentina and hosts India in the quarterfinals.
Asian Games silver medallist Malaysia are all but out of the tournament as they are placed last in Pool D with just one point and an inferior goal difference. Only a miracle can save Malaysia from packing their bags. They can still remain in the fray if the Netherlands beat Pakistan by at least eight goals or more.
Both the teams had their chances in the game but it was Germany who were more precise with their finishing skills.
The Germans started brightly and raced to a 3-0 lead inside 18 minutes through goals from Herzbruch and Ruhr.
But the Malaysians tried to make a valiant fightback and managed to reduce the margin to 2-3 in the 28th minute through goals from Rahim and Noor.
The clinical Germans capitalised on Malaysia's defensive errors when Marco Miltkau deflected in a Niklas Wellen's perfect lay-off in the 39th minute.
The Malaysians did not give up and narrowed down the gap to 3-4 when Rahim converted another penalty corner.
The Germans had the last laugh when Miltkau scored from a counter-attack just a minute from the final hooter to dash any hopes of Malaysia's comeback.
Both the teams had numerous scoring opportunities in the form of penalty corners. While Malaysia earned as many as eight penalty corners, the Germans secured seven in the match.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kane scores hat trick and Bayern extends Bundesliga lead to 11 points
Berlin (AP): Harry Kane was substituted in at the hour mark and still had enough time to score a hat trick on Saturday.
The England captain took his goal tally for Bayern Munich this season to 28 and the defending champions extended their lead to 11 points after thrashing Stuttgart 5-0 on the road.
Second-placed Leipzig later hosted Eintracht Frankfurt.
With Kane on the bench, Konrad Laimer took on the scoring duties and produced a superb finish. The Austria midfielder collected a long ball and combined with Michael Olise before slotting home from close range with a subtle backheel past goalkeeper Alexander Nübel in the 11th minute.
Kane made it 2-0 with a low shot into the bottom corner and Josip Stanišic added his name to the scoresheet. Kane added further luster to the win from the penalty spot after Stuttgart was reduced to 10 men for Lorenz Assignon using his arm to clear a ball in the 81st.
Kane completed the rout with a flick from an Olise cross with two minutes left. He has found the net five more times with England this season, taking his total to 33 goals for club and country.
Stuttgart had chances before halftime but lacked a cutting edge. Midfielder Nikolas Nartey thought he equalized only for his goal to be ruled out for offside after a VAR check.
Bayern Munich is unbeaten in 16 league and cup games against German opposition this season.
Other results
==========
Bayer Leverkusen suffered a fourth loss, 2-0 at Augsburg.
Defender Dimitrios Giannoulis put the host in front after six minutes then turned provider to set up forward Anton Kade. Leverkusen, which hit the woodwork, remained in fourth place, 14 points behind Bayern.
Wolfsburg scored from all of its shots on target and moved four points clear of the relegation zone after beating Union Berlin 3-1. Heidenheim defeated Freiburg 2-1. Cologne and St. Pauli drew 1-1.
