Australia rally to down Korea

Australia made sure of a place in the semi-finals of the men's hockey competition when they scored a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Korea in their concluding match in Group B.

The victory swelled the hosts' points tally to 11 and assured them the top place in the group. Korea completed their league engagements with 8 points and now await the result of the India - Poland match later in the day to see whether they go through to the last four. India, with seven points, need to beat Poland to make their first Olympics sem-finals appearence in 20 years.

Korea went ahead in the seventh minute through Seung-Tae Song from a field goal and then looked like calling the shots as they raided the Australian defence repeatedly. However stout defending gradually brought the Aussies into the match. And after Craig Victory scored a little before the breather from a penalty-corner, they never looked back.

In the second session, the hosts, who knew well enough that they had to win, piled on the pressure. With good backing from Elmer James and Troy Elder, who both worked tirelessly, they controlled the game and created several scoring opportunities. Their efforts paid off in the 62nd minute when Jay Stacy drove hard and true from a penalty-corner.

For the remainder of the match, they held territorial possession to ensure their place in the last four.

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