Australia 2 defeat New Zealand 1
Goals: AUS – Donna-Lee PATRICK FG 50m FG 61m; NZL – Honor DILLON FG 67m

Australia sealed fifth place in the competition, defeating New Zealand with a professional performance, in a game where Black Sticks captain Di WEAVERS played her last international match after 183 caps.

Australia just about shaded a scrappy and disjointed first half, winning plenty of penalty corners, but some good defending by New Zealand denied them the chance to take the lead. As half time approached, many of the spectators in the crowd must have been wondering if they would ever see a goal between these two sides, whose previous encounter had ended in a scoreless draw.

The second half started with both teams conceding possession and making basic errors, until eventually Emily HALLIDAY received a yellow card for stick checking New Zealand's exciting 16-year-old Charlotte Harrison. The Black Sticks should have capitalised, but instead found themselves a goal down when Donna-Lee PATRICK finished off some good work by Nikki HUDSON in the 50th minute. When HALLIDAY returned to the pitch, PATRICK scored her second of the game with nine minutes left, effectively winning the game and securing 5th place.

New Zealand were looking likely to become the first team in women’s Champions Trophy history not to score in the entire tournament. After 418 minutes of match play, they finally got the goal that the team and the entire crowd wanted. Charlotte HARRISON drew the keeper out of position before slipping the ball to Honor DILLON, who took her time to place her shot into the empty net.

New Zealand finished the tournament in 6th place.

Netherlands 1 defeat Argentina 1 (4-1 aps)
Goals: NED – Vera VORSTENBOSCH FG 53m; ARG Mercedes MARGELOT PC 66m

Netherlands got their revenge over Argentina in the drama of penalty strokes after both normal and extra time finished with the scores level. This result gives Netherlands the bronze medal, and means that Argentina finished in fourth place.

After the thrilling match between the two teams on Match Day 5, where Argentina grabbed victory in the last minute of the match, the expectation within the stadium was high. The first half failed to reach the levels of the previous encounter, but both sides still created a number of decent chances to break the deadlock. It seemed as though The Netherlands were concerned about the threat of Argentina on the counter attack, and were careful not to commit to many players forward.

The best of the action certainly came in the second half. Sophie POLKAMP cleared a certain Argentina goal off the line shortly before Vera VORSTENBOSCH picked up a Naomi VAN AS through ball and scored, much to the delight of the home crowd. For the majority of the final stages, a second Netherlands goal looked likely, but Argentina proved their resilience yet again when Mercedes MARGALOT drag flicked an equaliser from a penalty corner with five minutes left.

The game then went to golden goal extra-time, but the teams seemed more interested in not conceding rather than scoring the vital goal. Netherlands scored all of their strokes securing the bronze for the host nation, with only Luciana AYMAR on target for Argentina.

Germany 3 defeat China 2

Goals: GER – Fanny RINNE FG 11m PC 70m, Natacha KELLER FG 42m; CHN – LI Hong Xia FG 9m, MA Yi Bo PC 42m.

Germany won the Rabo women’s Champions Trophy in the most dramatic style, courtesy of a Fanny RINNE penalty corner goal nine seconds from the end of the game. The match had been a fitting finale to the tournament, with both teams giving the crowd something to remember. MA Yi Bo was in terrific form up front for China all game, and was rightly voted as the best player in the tournament.

China took the lead thanks to LI Hong Xia in the ninth minute, who calmly slotted the ball past Kristina REYNOLDS in the Germany goal. An immediate response was required by Germany, and it was delivered a minute later by Fanny RINNE who expertly deflected in a quick free hit from the top of the circle. The pace of the China forward line was a constant problem for Germany, but defended extremely well. The second half was open and flowing, with China and Germany both having spells of possession. China took the lead once again thanks to another example of their expertise at penalty corners, with MA Yi Bo flicking into the roof of the net past the helpless Germany keeper. Again, Germany’s response was swift with Natascha KELLER scoring on her reverse side after being set-up by the influential RINNE. More end to end hockey followed with Germany looking the team most likely to get the goal. With just 40 seconds left, Germany won the vital penalty corner an RINNE proved her class with a wonderful drag flick which clipped the inside of the right post on its way into the net.

As a result, China finished in second place and may well be disappointed with the result, but their form in this tournament has been outstanding and they are very much on track for getting amongst the medals at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.