Auckland, Dec 11: Australia became the first team to win the Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament four-straight times when it beat Spain 1-0 in Sunday's final.
Eddie Ockenden crashed a penalty corner into the top-left corner of the Spanish net in the 59th minute to give the world champion Australians their 11th win from a record 13 finals appearances.
Spain protested the goal and referred the decision to the video referee but the official judged the score should stand and Australia remained unbeaten at the tournament and in 14-straight Champions Trophy games.
The Netherlands beat host New Zealand 5-3 to take the bronze medal. Germany beat Britain 1-0 for fifth place and Pakistan beat South Korea 5-2 to finish seventh in the elite eight-team field.
Australia's Ric Charlesworth became the first coach to win three successive titles since Klaus Kleiter led Germany to victory in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He adds those victories to his two gold medals as a player in 1983 and 1985.
“It was a typical final,” Charlesworth said. “It was very tough.
“We played much better than our first game against Spain, which was good. The one or two chances that Spain had came from our errors so if we can iron them out we will be a very tough team to beat.”
Australia captain Jamie Dwyer, who was named on Saturday as the World Player of the Year for a record fifth time, was the top goalscorer at the tournament with seven, heading Spain's Eduard Tubau and Billy Bakker of the Netherlands with five each.
Dwyer and and Luke Doerner won their fifth Champions Trophy gold medals, equaling the Australian record set by Craig Davies and Graham Reid.
In the bronze medal playoff, Bob de Voogd scored in the 67th minute and Billy Bakker in the 69th as the Netherlands broke away from New Zealand after the scores had been locked 2-2 at halftime and 3-3 late in the second half.
Netherlands veteran Teun de Nooijer scored his 43rd Champions Trophy goal in a win that made him the all-time record holder in terms of Champions Trophy medals. The 35-year-old playmaker has now won 13 medals, moving him ahead of former teammate Jeroen Delmee.
The Netherlands have also won more bronze medals than any other team in Champions Trophy history with seven.
“We were very disappointed to miss the final,” Netherlands coach Paul van Ass said. “We felt that we had lost the gold but now we will go away with winning bronze, which is a much better feeling.”
European champion Germany qualified for next year's Champions Trophy when it's 1-0 win over Britain earned it fifth place. Thilo Stralkowski scored the only goal of the match from a penalty corner in the 30th minute.
Muhammad Rizwan Senior scored a golden goal in the fifth minute of extra time to give Asian Champion Pakistan a 5-4 win over South Korea and seventh place. The win was Pakistan's second over Korea at the tournament, having beaten their Asian rivals 6-2 earlier in the week.
