Argentina rout England;
China hold Holland
Strong contenders Argentina registered their second victory, routing England 4-0, in the elite six-nation women's Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Macau and moved to the top of the league table on Tuesday.
With seven points from three matches, the south Americans look assured of a place in Sunday's final, which features the top two teams in the league.
England put up a better show than they did on Sunday, when they were thrashed by New Zealand 5-0, but it was not good enough to halt the marauding Argentines.
Prolific goal scorer Vanina Oneto opened the scoring within four minutes with a rasping reverse stick shot from the top of the circle. But England, though outplayed for the remainder of the first half, defended doggedly and managed to cross over at half-time just a goal in arrears. For that they have to thank captain Mel Clewlow and goalkeeper Katy Roberts, who brought off some smart saves.
But the duo were helpless after the breather after Luciana Aymar scored her first of two goals in the 38th minute. Cecilia Rognoni made it 3-0 four minutes later from a penalty-corner before Aymar could complete the rout three minutes from the end with a lovely field goal.
In another match, hosts China sprung their second successive surprise in as many outings, holding the Netherlands 1-1.
The Dutch dominated most of the first half and scored off their second penalty-corner in the 10th minute, with a powerful shot by Ageeth Boomgaardt. But China, who had shocked Olympic champions Australia 1-0 on Sunday, restored parity at the stroke of half-time when Wan Feng Zhou scored from a quick counter attack that left the Dutch defence standing.
After three matches, the Netherlands have just three points, having drawn with Argentina, Australia and now China, and are in danger of missing out on a berth in the final.
China have five points after a win and two draws.
In another match, Australia kept their hopes of making it to the final alive with a 3-1 victory over New Zealand.
They have four points after today's victory and a draw.
It was New Zealand who went ahead in the eighth minute through Amanda Christie. But the Aussies then staged a strong rally, slamming in three goals in the space of 15 minutes to change the complexion of the match.
Louise Dobson scored off a penalty-corner in the 28th minute, captain Katrina Powell tapped the ball home from a scrimmage five minutes before half-time and Wendy Alcorn made it 3-1 in the 45th minute.
