Hockeyroos Defeat Germany to Finish Second in Pool B
A dominant performance saw the Hockeyroos run out 3-1 winners over European gold medallists Germany in their Champions Trophy match in Mendoza, with the Australian women finishing second in Pool B after Argentina went on to beat England 4-1.
The Hockeyroos will face Japan in the quarter-finals after the Japanese finished third in Pool A after going down narrowly 1-0 to world champions, the Netherlands.
Clinical finishing in the final third of the pitch saw Georgia Nanscawen, Jodie Kenny and Emily Smith all find the target to maintain the Hockeyroos’ unbeaten run, with Germany’s Franzisca Hauke netting a late consolation.
The margin of victory might have been greater had Emily Smith’s snap shot not cannoned off the crossbar and German goalkeeper Yvonne Frank not made a string of saves to deny the likes of WAIS athlete Kathryn Slattery and Gabi Nance.
The result kept the Hockeyroos top of Pool B ahead of Argentina’s game but the late concession of a goal to Germany ultimately proved costly in the race for number one spot as Argentina took top position on goal difference.
The Hockeyroos will face the team finishing third in Pool A – either Japan or China – in Friday morning’s (Australian time) quarter-finals.
Hockeyroos coach Adam Commens said, “It was a pretty good performance. I thought we played a good 55 minutes and our objective was to play four quarters of fantastic hockey, which is why I was disappointed with the last five minutes. We took our foot off the throttle and let Germany have opportunities. That’s not what we’re about, it doesn’t fit with our values.
“The German goalkeeper played well, very well and there could have quite easily been more goals, which is pleasing.”
Despite their form going into the quarter-finals, the one-off nature of the next match means the Hockeyroos’ unbeaten record counts for nothing with all eight teams qualifying for the quarter-finals regardless of pool results.
Commens admitted that the format doesn’t sit comfortably with him, adding, “I’m not a huge supporter of the quarter-finals in an eight team tournament. Teams that play well in the rounds are not rewarded with the one-off nature of the match. But we’ve set ourselves up in a good position to top the pool. It could come down to goal difference, which is why I was disappointed with losing the goal in the last five minutes.”
Commens’ remarks rang true, after Argentina recorded a 4-1 win over Great Britain in the later match to top the pool and relegate Australia to second.
Tasmanian Amelia Spence finally made her first Champions Trophy debut after recovering from a hamstring injury that sidelined her for the matches against England and Argentina and Commens added, “I thought Amelia was a great contributor today, it’s not always easy coming off an injury.”
After keeping out an early German penalty corner, the Hockeyroos took charge, controlling play and enjoying much the better of the chances. Jodie Kenny had a first quarter penalty corner saved by the strong right foot of goalkeeper Yvonne Frank, who was then left helpless as Georgia Nanscawen rolled the ball into an empty net to open the scoring shortly after the quarter-time break.
A quick passing move saw Emily Smith find Brooke Peris in the German circle and Peris’s pinpoint square pass eliminated the goalkeeper, finding Nanscawen charging in unabated to make it 1-0.
Soon after, Frank kept out Gabi Nance’s powerful reverse stick shot from a narrow angle.
Two minutes into the second half and it was 2-0. Jodie Kenny once against demonstrated her prowess from the penalty corner, opting for a powerful low flick to the right hand side that deflected up off the goalkeeper’s pads and into the roof of the net. And moments later only the width of the crossbar denied the Hockeyroos a third goal as Smith’s snap shot rebounded to safety.
On the stroke of three-quarter time, a quick Australian breakaway found Smith inside the German half. The forward’s excellent close control took her beyond her opponent before she played a one-two with Ashleigh Nelson at the top of the circle. Receiving the ball back under pressure, Smith stretched to control it before rolling it into the unguarded net with Brooke Peris in close attendance to shepherd it home.
Kathryn Slattery was denied by Yvonne Frank in the final quarter while Kenny had a penalty corner run down by the German defence before a late rally saw the Europeans force a series of penalty corners. The previously untested Australian goalkeeper Ashlee Wells produced a double save from a corner but in the final minute Franzisca Hauke latched onto a loose ball to sweep home a late consolation from the edge of the circle for 3-1.
Other results on day three saw New Zealand beat China 2-0 to finish top of Pool A, ahead of the Dutch who could only manage a 1-0 win over Japan. In Pool B, Argentina beat England 4-1.
-HockeyAus
