Hockeyroos Edged in Oceania Cup
The Hockeyroos have gone down to New Zealand 4-2 in the third and deciding match of the Oceania Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in Hobart today.
The Australians who only needed a draw to take out the series on aggregate were unable to hold off a strong finishing New Zealand who dominated the second half of the match to take out the 2011 Oceania Cup title.
The match started at a frantic pace with both sides stamping their authority and wanting the upper hand early and attacking with purpose and intensity.
It was New Zealand who handed out the early blow after a well-executed penalty corner resulted in a Charlotte Harrison goal in the 7th minute to get things rolling for the Blacksticks.
New Zealand were playing with pace and purpose early and they were continually putting the Australian defence under the pump.
Australia was slowly responding to the Blacksticks’ pressure and were able to earn their first penalty corner through Hockeyroo third-gamer Emily Smith.
Jodie Schultz made no mistake with the variation and her drag flick in 14th minute went soaring high into the net to level the game for the Hockeyroos.
The Blacksticks continued to mount pressure and end to end hockey resulted in New Zealand skipper Kayla Sharland giving her side the lead in the 20th minute after a close range reverse stick strike made its way into the backboard.
Australia responded to the scoreboard pressure and Megan Rivers was busy in the midfield and up forward and the Hockeyroos began to get their hands on the ball in the midfield in the latter part of the half and looked the more dangerous side.
In the dying stages of the first half Australian skipper Madonna Blyth pounced on a ball which bounced off the NZ keeper and found Claire Messent who made no mistakes and levelled the game up with ten seconds to go.
In the opening ten minutes of the second half it was end to end hockey with both sides trying to gain the ascendancy.
Victorian duo Georgia Nanscawen and Claire Messent were busy on the Hockeyroos’ forward line whilst Katie Glynn and Anita Punt were looking dangerous up front for the Blacksticks.
New Zealand was growing in confidence as they continually started to get their hands on the ball in the midfield.
Continuing the trend of converting off their penalty corners, the Blacksticks were able to take the lead through Clarissa Eshuis whose precise drag flick gave them the advantage in the 58th minute.
Dominating in possession for the remainder of the match the New Zealanders extended their advantage in the 65th minute after rocket from Stacey Michelson from the top of the circle found Katie Glynn on the far left post.
The Hockeyroos increased their tempo in the final five minutes and desperately tried to find a goal to level and take the match into extra time but the New Zealand defence stood strong and denied the Australians at every attempt.
Hockeyroos coach Adam Commens said it was his young side’s inexperience that cost them the match and the series today.
“We were below par today and it was a disappointing result. New Zealand were clinical and efficient today and utilised their chances,” Commens said.
“Today was an excellent learning opportunity and we played according to our maturity.”
“It is an immature team and we saw the more seasoned New Zealand team show their experience and their bigger named players were able to step up and that was the difference.”
Commens said despite the series loss there were several positive signs to come out of the three matches.
“We were able to score penalty corners against world class penalty corner defence and we unearthed young talented players who are having an impact in games which is a positive aspect of our preparation for the London Olympics.”
The Hockeyroos were represented by AIS-WAIS scholarship holders Ashleigh Nelson, Kobie McGurk, Fiona Boyce and Jayde Taylor.
Earlier:
The Hockeyroos and New Zealand have played out a 3-3 in the second match of the Oceania cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in Hobart.
The result means the title of Oceania Cup Champions will come down to the final match of the series.
Down by two goals at half time, the Hockeyroos displayed some excellent and dominant hockey in the second half and were unlucky not to get the win.
The Hockeyroos started the match well and were on the attack from the first whistle with Claire Messent busy up forward in the initial stages of the match.
However it was New Zealand who put the ball in the back of the net first with Emily Naylor putting away a finely executed penalty in the seventh minute to open up proceedings.
With the Hockeyroos on the back foot, New Zealand furthered their advantage a minute later courtesy of another penalty corner goal, this time to Sam Harrison.
Australia responded to the scoreboard pressure and continued to attack and were rewarded for their efforts after a finely executed Anna Flanagan drag flick off a penalty corner lobbed high into the net in the 21st minute.
The game continued to go from one end to the other with New Zealand looking the better of the sides late in the opening half, looking dangerous and exciting in attack on several occasions.
A great solo run through the midfield by Stacey Michelson led to another New Zealand goal, with Anita Punt showing composure in the goal circle to finish the job up forward to give the Blacksticks a two goal advantage going into half time.
The intensity in the second half picked up and both sides were full of run, with New Zealand looking more dangerous in their attacking circle early with speedy forward Charlotte Harrison busy.
Australia earned a pc in the 56th minute and were rewarded for their efforts after a well- executed PC variation saw Casey Eastham’s name on the scoresheet.
The final twenty minutes saw some great efforts from both teams who were desperate to gain the upper hand.
Blackstick Gemma Flynn showed her speed and skill with a pacy run down the left side to unleash a fine reverse stick shot onlt to be denied by a good save to Hockeyroos keeper Rachel Lynch.
The final ten minutes saw the Hockeyroos dominate posession and they demonstrated tenacity and in their attacking circle when the game was up for grabs.
The Hockeyroos nearly levelled on several occasions with their best chance coming from forward Claire Messent who spilled on a loose ball in the circle and unleashed a powerful reverse stick shot only to be denied by the inside of the crossbar.
After holding the ball in their attacking half for the majority of the second half, the Hockeyroos were finally rewarded in the 62nd minuteafter some quick ball movement in the circle resulted in a goal to second-gamer Emily Smith who squared things up and got her first International goal in the process.
From here on the Hockeyroos were full of energy and almost took the lead on several occasions.
After a run through the midfield, Casey Eastham found Georgia Nanscawen unmarked in the circle but her deflection went just wide.
Another chance for the Australians saw the ball bobble past the right post after some nice work going forward by Kelly White and Nascawen who continued to be busy for the Hockeyroos.
The final two minutes saw frantic hockey but both teams were unable to put the nail in the coffin and take out the match.
Despite not coming away with the win Hockeyroos coach Adam Commens said he was happy with his side’s gutsy comeback and how they executed their game plan.
“Unfortunately we didn’t make the most of our opportunities and we were really unlucky not to come away with the win,” Commens said.
Commens paid tribute to the efforts of two of his youngest players, 19 year olds Emily Smith and Georgia Nanscawen who both played their part in today’s match.
“I thought Emily and Georgia were quite outstanding today and our midfielders really stepped up as did our more experienced players.”
– Hockey Australia
