Las Leonas won 2-1 the Hockey Champions Trophy final against the Dutch team. The match which was termed as pre-final was taken by Netherlands and then all eyes were on the finale where the two teams were contesting again- and this time the result was different.
Yes, Argentina came out winner in a match where the opponents couldn’t do more than just decreasing the goal deficit. With this win the six-time Champions Trophy winners have added another Trophy to their kitty; a record seventh one.
In the event final at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, the Argentine team scored twice in the first quarter itself; and these goals from Martina Cavallero and Noel Barrionuevo broke the spines of the top-ranked Dutch- playing minus their captain and talisman Maartje Paumen due to injury.
The Dutch tried to unsettle the lead when Eva de Goede hit back a high quality penalty corner flick just after half time, but Argentina didn’t allow them further inroads.
And this was the final change on the scorecard as Las Leonas won their third consecutive Champions Trophy.
Speaking about the last pool match, the Argentine Captain Carla Rebecchi said, “We didn’t play our best yesterday but we were playing for nothing and it is always different for us in a final.”
Rebecchi also finished the competition as top scorer with seven goals and was named the competition’s best player.
Speaking further about the win, she said, “Today was very different to yesterday, there is something inside us that make us play better in finals. We know that when we get on the pitch in the final we have a little bit more than in other matches. We have to celebrate this victory.”
Rebecchi, speaking about her individual performace, said: “I’m really happy. But first of all, winning the tournament was great. I’ve been training really hard this year. I came back from my knee injury last year and in the summer I said I had to train really hard. I want to be very fit for the Olympics and I am doing that.”
The Dutch Goal Keeper Joyce Sombroek was named as the best goalkeeper while Rebecchi’s 21-year-old team-mate Maria Granatto was named as the best junior player.