Champions Trophy Glory for Kookaburras

The Kookaburras have won the ABN AMRO Hockey Champions Trophy title in stunning fashion beating Germany 5-3 in front of a packed State Netball Hockey Centre on the weekend.

  For Aussie fans it was a beginning that dreams are made of, with Des Abbott bringing the crowd to life in the 2nd minute by scoring the opening goal of the match with clinical accuracy.

Despite the home-crowd advantage, Germany’s youngest player Florian Fuchs preyed on the Australian defence like a seasoned professional and managed to level the match in the 14th minute.

Fuch’s stellar goal ignited a surge of adrenalin in the German side, and a goal to Martin Haner gave them some breathing space against an Australian side that was pressing hard.

Rattled by Germany’s electric speed, the Australian defence let a third German goal from striker Matthias Witthaus slip through the gaps, increasing their lead to 3-1.

The half-time break served the Aussies well and the comeback began with assertiveness as the Kookaburras converted their second goal from the stick of Liam de Young in the 37th minute.

Luke Doerner also stepped up and went on the attack in the 42nd minute, slamming the ball into the back of the net off a penalty corner, giving the crowd hope that victory was possible.

Pin point precision from player of the year Jaime Dwyer gave Australian coach Ric Charlesworth something to smile about as the game turned on its head.

Luke Doerner played unbelievable hockey and in the 50th minute he took advantage of his team’s eighth penalty corner to give the Aussies the lead after trailing at half time.

The Olympic champions were desperate to draw level but itall was over when theKookaburras struck on the counter and Fergus Kavanagh lobbed the keeper to make it 5-3.

– Hockey Australia