Monchengladbach: Australia chalked up an easy 3-1 win over Japan for their second success in three pool B matches of the 11th FIH men's hockey World Cup on Sunday night.
The Aussies now have six points from three outings to occupy the second spot in the pool behind New Zealand.
Having lost 3-1 to Spain in their opening league fixture, the Aussies hit hard and fast and scored through Michael McCann (6th), Troy Elder (8th) and Russell Ford (55th).
Japan, though beaten comprehensively, showed plenty of spunk and managed to scramble home a goal in the 16th with Toshiaki Fukuda finding the boards following a terrible defensive lapse on part of the Aussies.
In the other match of the pool penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas came good at the right moment for Pakistan who pulled off a 2-2 draw against Spain.
Abbas, who came out of retirement earlier this year, converted Pakistan's only penalty corner in the 52nd minute to level the scores 2-2 and ensure that the teams remain tied on points, each having five from three matches.
Earlier, Rehan Butt tapped the ball between goalkeeper Bernardino Harrera in the 11th minute after a fast left-wing move to put Pakistan ahead.
But Spain equalised in the 28th minute as Santiago Freixa shot a reverse hit into the goal and past the 40th minute took a 2-1 advantage when Pol Amat converted a penalty stroke that Pakistan hotly disputed.
In a stop-start match that deteriorated into a scrappy contest with both teams frequently questioning umpiring decisions, neither side could dictate terms, though the Spaniards looked more dangerous when on the attack.
The focus was as much on the two umpires, Sumesh Putra (Canada) and Henrik Ehlers (Denmark) as the controlling officials tended to be tentative in their rulings, leading to the players going over the boil disputing the decisions.
Ehlers was indecisive when Xavier Ribas pushed towards the goal from a penalty corner scramble and the ball struck defender Ghazanfar Ali's body before rolling out.
The umpire first signalled a penalty corner. But, following a Spanish protest, he consulted with Putra and converted it into a penalty stroke.
The Pakistanis were up in arms against the decision, but ultimately Amat took the stroke and converted.
The Danish official received further attention from the Pakistani forwards when skipper Muhammad Saqlain was clearly pushed from behind inside the circle by a Spanish forward and the umpire blew for a penalty corner.
The Pakistanis were understandably angry, but the umpire stood firm.
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