Junior Hockey World Cup: Germany starts title defence with shaky win; New Zealand pip Japan

Lucknow: Six-time champions Germany started their title defence on a shaky note by eking out a close 2-1 win over Spain in a Pool C match of the 11th Junior Hockey World Cup on the opening day of the tournament at the Major Dhyan Chand Astroturf Stadium at Lucknow. [caption id=“attachment_3146584” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty Images[/caption] Germany opened the scoring in the 25th minute of the match through Anton Boeckel’s field strike to go into half time with a one-goal cushion. But Spain forged their way back after the break and levelled the scores when Manual Bordas Fabregas found the net with a field effort in the 48th minute. The Germans, though, had the last laugh scoring the winner seven minutes from regulation time through a penalty corner conversion by Timm Herzbruch (63rd minute). Even though the Germans managed to gather three points from the encounter, the show was far from convincing from the Valentin Altenburg-coached side who are regarded as one of the front-runners for the title. In the opening match of the tournament earlier in the day, New Zealand scrapped past lowly Japan 1-0 in Pool C. New Zealand’s Sam Lane scored the lone goal of the match in the 41st minute through a field strike. The two winning sides of Pool C, Germany and New Zealand will face each other in their next pool match on Friday.