Hockeyroos Complete Successful Tour Campaign
The Hockeyroos have finished their USA and Argentina Tour with a 2-1 victory over Japan in Rosario, Argentina.
The two week tour of the USA and Argentina was an important beginning to their 2012 London Olympic Games preparation. The girls first landed in San Diego, USA where they played four matches against the USA national team.
The Hockeyroos won the series with two wins and two draws. Goals were hard to come by against the USA with the Hockeyroos scoring six goals in four matches.
The team departed San Diego for picturesque Argentina where they played two matches against the top ranked Dutch outfit, one match against world number three Germany and a final clash against the world’s ninth ranked team Japan.
A prolific 4-1 victory over the Netherlands got their Argentinian tour off to a great start. A 0-1 loss to the Dutch in their second game was followed by a 3-1 victory over Germany.
The Hockeyroos finished their tour off with a solid 2-1 victory over Japan. Hockeyroos Coach Adam Commens said “It was good to finish with another solid performance and a win.”
The Hockeyroos returned home from their international tour having scored 15 goals and conceding seven.
Earlier:
The Hockeyroos further enhanced their reputation in this Olympic year with a 3-1 victory over world number three, Germany in Rosario, Argentina.
Hockeyroos Coach Adam Commens said “It was an encouraging performance against the world number three and confirms the progress we have made.”
The Hockeyroos opened the match with a fantastic field goal to Emily Hurtz in the opening minute. The Australians continued to pressure the German defense in the opening 20 minutes with a number of circle penetrations and shots on goal.
The Germans caught a break in the 23rd minute of the match, scoring a goal from a penalty corner. With scores tied at half time, the Hockeyroos could feel a little unlucky to not hold a slender lead after producing five shots from 12 circle penetrations against two shots from three circle penetrations from the German team.
The Hockeyroos came out firing in the second half putting on a dominant display of hockey, attaining 10 shots on goal from 12 circle penetrations. The breakthrough came when Casey Eastham gave the Hockeyroos the lead via a penalty corner goal in the 58th minute.
The pressure continued to mount for the Germans when youngster Kellie White scored an outstanding field goal only two minutes later.
A gallant Germany couldn’t contain the confident Hockeyroos who caused another giant killing effort to win 3-1. The Hockeyroos go into tomorrow’s match against Japan beaming with confidence after producing 15 shots on goal from a massive 24 circle penetrations.
The best players for the Hockeyroos were Casey Eastham, Captain Madonna Blyth and AIS-WAIS athlete Kobie McGurk. Already looking forward to the Japan match tomorrow morning, Commens said “The next match will be interesting, our players will meet a highly motivated Japanese team at the end of a long demanding tour. We are looking for an improved performance again tomorrow to finish the tour with another victory.”
-Hockey Australia
