The Hague: Olympic silver medalists The Netherlands stormed into the semi-finals of the women's hockey World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Australia at the Kyocera Stadium here.
Kim Lammers opened the scoring in the 57th minute of the fast-paced encounter yesterday when she darted into the scoring circle from the left flank and scored with a firm reverse hit that deflected in off the goalkeeper.
Naomi an As Put the issue beyond Australia in the 65th minute when she scored with a deft placement after receiving the ball from a free hit inside the circle.
The Netherlands now have 12 points from four matches and are assured of a spot in the semifinals from Group A. Australia are on nine points, followed by South Korea on seven and New Zealand on six.
South Korea stayed in the third spot after registering a 4-2 victory over Belgium, who have now lost all their four matches. Cheon Eun-bi and Park Mi-hyun scored two field goals each to shape the Korean win, after they fell 1-2 behind five minutes into the second session.
Jill Boon and Alix Gerniers scored a goal each in open play for Belgium. New Zealand posted a 4-1 win over Japan, who have one point from four games.
For New Zealand, Anita Punt scored twice, while Sophie Cocks and Katie Glynn contributed one goal each. Japan's only goal was scored by Yuri Nagai.
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