Czech Rep v Kazakhstan
Czech Rep (1) v (7) Kazakhstan
After the euphoric parade of Denmark v Scotland, an admirably healthy crowd stayed on to watch this enticing fixture between two teams on form. The proud Kazakh's wear the name of their capital city Almaty on the back of their shirts - and they were quick to capitalise on some seemingly tired legs in the Czech team. The Eastern Europe derby saw Kazakhstan open up a 4-1 first half lead with a sweeping passing move, a sneaky near post strike and an own goal rewarding some superior skills.
Those talents were on display again in the second period as the Kazakh's opened up an imposing lead despite the best efforts of the Czech keeper - and the crossbar. The bar was struck six times in this attack-minded game. With the result not in doubt, the Kazakhs started to pass the ball around, leaving the Czech chasing shadows and the crowd wondering if they were seeing a side to challenge Nigeria and Scotland in the quest for the HWC trophy.
Joel Dimmock