Spain's women's field hockey team, known as the Red Sticks, lost 1-4 to Germany on Monday in the second match of the second phase of the FIH Hockey World Cup, being held in the Netherlands and Belgium. The result ends Spain's hopes of reaching the semifinals, leaving them to play for seventh place instead.
Carlos García Cuenca's side needed a positive result to guarantee a place in the fight for fifth, and needed Argentina to beat Belgium to keep alive any dream of a medal. Germany's early accuracy, with two goals in the first quarter, put paid to those hopes.
Four consecutive penalty corners from Germany tested Spain early on. Candela Mejías defended the first, with Clara Pérez saving the rest. Spain had a moment of their own through Lucía Jiménez, but it was Germany's Lynn Krings and Sara Strauss who opened the scoring, putting the match at 0-2.
Spain push but fail to convert
In the second quarter, the Red Sticks pushed higher up the pitch and controlled more of the ball, but created little in Germany's circle and had no clear scoring chances. Before halftime, Mejías won a penalty corner that Paula Jiménez failed to convert, and in the closing seconds Pérez made a crucial save to deny a dangerous effort from Krings.
Germany pull away in the second half
With five minutes left in the match, Krings received a green card and a penalty stroke won by Estel Petchamé allowed Xantal Giné to pull one back, making it 1-2. Germany responded immediately: Jette Fleschütz pounced on a loose ball to make it 1-3, and on the following counter-attack Micheel Lena scored the fourth to put the game out of reach.
In the final quarter, Petchamé won another penalty corner for Spain, but it came to nothing, and the scoreboard did not move again.
What's next for Spain
The Red Sticks will now turn their attention to the battle for seventh place in the tournament. They face China on Thursday at 17:00.
