BEIJING: Watching the men's hockey final between Germany and Spain last night, one wondered if, but for the shenanigans of our disgraceful erstwhile hockey administration, the men's hockey gold medal could possibly have been ours.

As it turned out, relentless European powerhouse Germany prevailed over the gifted, but wayward, Spaniards, twice bridesmaids but never the bride, by a 16th minute goal by Christopher Zeller.

Earlier, Australia slammed six of the best against the Netherlands' two goals to lift the bronze in a furiously contested match marked by sharp exchanges.

Germany's Christopher Zeller (centre) celebrates with teammates after beating Spain 1-0 in the final of the men's field hockey at the Olympic Green Hockey Stadium on Saturday. pic/AFP

Three lightning goals by the Australians in the first nine minutes initially knocked the wind out of the sails of the Dutchmen, who fought back gamely to pull up to 2-3 in the 27th minute.

But the Australians, playing under coach and former international Barry Dancer for the last time, rallied strongly to stamp their technical and tactical superiority.

Eddie Echenden (5th and 6th minutes), Don Abbott (9th), Eli Mathieson (28th), Rob Hammond (42nd) and Luke Doerner (62nd ) scored for Australia, while Taeke Taekama (22nd) and Teun de Nooijer (28th) reduced the margin for the Netherlands.

Both teams converted one penalty corner goal each. The half-time score was 4-2.

Before the final, Spain's veteran player Pol Amat had said the outcome of the final hinged largely upon strategy and how his team put it into practice.

"I hope coach Maurits (former member of the 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medal-winning Netherlands team) brings us luck. After all, he knows what it takes to win a gold."

Hendriks, on the other hand, emphasised that the final was not about coaches, but the players.

"This is for the boys," the Spain coach said. I am just going to sit and watch. The team has done a lot to get this far. They are just a delight to watch."

He added: "We have worked hard for three years to achieve this result and now we are close to realizing our dream. There is a lot to play for in the final."

Despite their accomplishments, Spain have never won the Olympic title, having to rest content with the silver in Moscow '80 (where they lost to India in the final) and at home in Barcelona '96.

However, Spain had reason to be cautious about Germany, having lost 0-1 to them in the preliminary round.
"We played badly that day and did not deserve to win," Hendriks said. "Germany will be tough, but this is a new day, a new game. We will go in as equals" German head coach Bernhard Peters, too was wary of the Spaniards.

"All the good work of the past will be of no use if we do not deliver when it counts the most," Weis said. "But the team is confident of finishing the job."