Hockeyroos Defeat Ireland 4-1 in Test Event
The Hockeyroos posted their first win at the London Investec Cup early this morning with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Ireland.
The Australians were 3-0 up after just 19 minutes and Ireland goal keeper Emma Gray’s 50th appearance was fast shaping up to be memorable for all the wrong reasons.
“We aimed to score early and we created several opportunities so it was good to put them away. We had been unable to do that against Holland in our first match and paid the price,” Hockeyroos’ Coach Adam Commens said.
“There were patches of the match which could have been better but it was a reasonable performance overall.”
Midfielder Teneal Attard agreed. “It was good to get a goal early but it was disappointing to fall away in the second half. We’re trying to get our structures right but we still have a good deal to work on,” she said.
With the sun almost peeking through the dark clouds, Australia made a perfect start, Fiona Boyce tipping in Madonna Blyth’s cross at the far post after just three minutes.
They did not have long to wait before Emily Smith grabbed her second goal of the tournament, bustling the ball over the line following a an impressive forward foray from Attard.
Smith, 19, who scored Australia’s consolation goal against the Dutch on Tuesday, is turning into a useful poacher.
The third was a stunning corner flick from Jodie Schulz after 19 minutes and there might have been more had Gray not found her form to keep out Schulz, Hope Munro and then Rivers.
Ireland started with purpose after the break but the Hockeyroos still had the majority of the play and extended their lead after 48 minutes when Casey Eastham’s shot was deflected home by an Irish defender.
That prompted Ireland’s best spell and Australia’s most scrappy period. It culminated in a green card for Anna Flanagan, a loss of concentration and Ireland’s first goal of the tournament.
“We had a brain explosion with the suspension, the players started doing things for themselves instead of what they should be doing for the team and to allow someone to be floating there free is unacceptable,” Commens said.
“We can joke about it a bit now, but that cannot happen at the Olympics.”
Ireland’s only corner was well saved by goal keeper Ashlee Wells who stopped both the initial shot and the follow-up and the Hockeyroos managed to take control of the proceedings for the final 15 minutes, earning their ninth corner of the game as the final whistle blew.
“We had a good conversion rate, we were 100 per cent after one,” Commens joked
“There was a lot of water on the pitch, so the injection was really slow and Ireland scrambled well to save a couple on the line.”
With World No 1 Holland expected to beat Ireland, who are ranked 14th and failed to qualify for the Olympics, Australia should reach the semi-final crossovers on Saturday. The other pool is a three-way battle between Great Britain, Germany and South Africa.
– Hockey Australia
