By IANS,
New Delhi : Italy thrashed Singapore 5-0 to finish fifth in the men’s hockey Olympic qualifier at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here Sunday.
This game was a repeat of the last match of the round-robin stage, won by Italy (4-0). The Italians tried to put some pace in the game early but Singapore blocked all their attempts, well backed by Sam Ong in goal.
Ignacio Salas and Agustin Nunez were very active upfront, forcing a number of penalty-corners that were well defended. The score remained tied until the 28th minute, when Italy finally opened the scoring from another penalty-corner.
Andrea Corsi added a goal from close range in the final minute of the period for a deserved 2-0 lead going into the break.
Nunez scored a fantastic goal in the 42nd minute, receiving the ball in the middle of the circle and coolly lifting it over the encroaching goal-keeper. The Singaporean players were starting to fade physically, possibly not used to play six high-level games in a week, and Salas added to their woes to push the score to 4-0 with still fifteen minutes to go.