Hockeyroos Lose Early Advantage

A late penalty stroke consigned Australia’s Hockeyroos to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Korea in Perth on Thursday, levelling the series at one game each with two matches still to play.

Madonna Blyth gave the girls in green and gold the perfect start after firing home the rebound on a penalty corner in the second minute but Korean captain Park My Hyun levelled midway through the first half.

Despite winning a series of second half penalty corners and forcing Korea into deep defending at times Australia could not find a way through. And the match turned with just five minutes remaining when Kim Young Ran fired her penalty stroke into the top left corner to complete the Korean comeback.

After the match, Head Coach Adam Commens lamented his side’s inability to capitalise on its opportunities in the first half.

“We made a good start to the game and should’ve been 2-0 up inside the first ten minutes,” he said. “We made some positional and structural changes tonight that worked well at times but not so well at others. It is disappointing we didn’t take the chance to progress but we learnt more tonight about Korea and some of our own players.”

Commens handed Edwina Bone (ACT) her first appearance for the Hockeyroos while Emily Smith took to the field for her country for the 50th time.

No sooner had the game begun than Australia won a penalty corner. With Anna Flanagan’s initial effort blocked and a subsequent rebound also cleared from in front of goal, Blyth stepped up to confidently sweep the ball high into the net to put the Hockeyroos 1-0 ahead.

Both sides traded penalty corners in the opening quarter of an hour before Smith came close to capping her 50th appearance with a goal, deflecting a pass towards goal only to see goalkeeper Lee Sin Hye anticipate it well.

Korea’s equaliser midway through the half was another good example of individual flair from captain Park Mi Hyun. Collecting a long, defence splitting pass at the top of the circle the forward rounded Ashlee Wells before knocking the ball home into the unguarded net.

After the break early penalty corners came and went before Wells pulled off a good save from Park Ki Ju’s powerful shot at full stretch. Anna Flanagan then saw her penalty corner flick gloved away by Lee Sin Hye. Further chances fell to Jade Close and Georgia Nanscawen but incredibly the Korean goal was not breached.

Defending a breakaway Korean counter attack Australia conceded a penalty stroke with five minutes remaining and Kim Young Ran’s cool execution high to her left gave Wells little chance to make the save. The goal spurred the Hockeyroos into action again as they piled on the pressure at the other end. A moment of uncertainty in the Korean circle offered the home fans hope of a late equaliser but the Korean defence scrambled the ball clear and hung on to win 2-1.

Commenting on Australia’s opportunities at penalty corners, Commens added: “We’re struggling to trap the ball and that’s something we need to improve.”

The Hockeyroos and Korea meet again on Saturday at 2:00pm WST at Perth Hockey Stadium. The match will also be streamed live on the Hockey Australia website at www.hockey.org.au.

Earlier:

A high intensity performance from the Hockeyroos handed Adam Commens’ side a 4-2 victory in the first of four matches against Korea in Perth.

Four second half goals, including two from Western Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder Ashleigh Nelson, turned around a half time deficit in exciting fashion. Returning captain Madonna Blyth (QLD) scored Australia’s third with Claire Messent (VIC) rounding things off late on.

Speaking afterwards, Commens was pleased with how the Hockeyroos took control to fight back. “I thought we played a high energy game and created enough chances in the first half,” he said. “It was our sustained pressure in that half that led to our second half performance when the game opened up.”

The Hockeyroos handed Jane Claxton (SA) and Brooke Peris (NT) their competitive international debuts and Commens was pleased with their performances, adding: “I was particularly pleased with our two debutants who I thought did well. We learnt a lot today, but we’ll need to be tighter in defence if we are to compete with the best in the world.”

Australia’s up-tempo start offered early chances to Peris and New South Wales forward Emily Smith but despite the opportunities it was the visitors that took the lead ten minutes before the break. Cutting in from the right, Korean captain Park Mi Hyun rifled a stunning shot beyond goalkeeper Rachael Lynch, who had earlier pulled off an important save from Kim Da Rae.

Canberra-born Anna Flanagan looked lively for Australia from penalty corners, whistling an early second half effort millimetres over the crossbar but it was WA’s Ashleigh Nelson that pulled the Hockeyroos level in the 41st minute. Reacting quickest, Nelson connected to fire home on the rebound after Flanagan’s initial penalty corner struck a Korean foot.

Nelson doubled her tally to put the Hockeyroos ahead in the 47th minute with the aid of a deflection and captain Madonna Blyth extended Australia’s lead soon after with a well struck shot. Moments earlier, at the other end, Lynch in the Australian goal had shown all of her reflexes to tip the ball over the top.

Kim Young Ran looked to have set up a tense finale with a low penalty corner strike just over ten minutes from time but Claire Messent’s goal with seven minutes remaining was enough to settle things despite a series of late penalty corners at both ends.

The Hockeyroos and Korea meet again on Thursday at 5:30pm at Perth Hockey Stadium. The match will also be streamed live on the Hockey Australia website at www.hockey.org.au.

– Hockey Australia