Hockeyroos Remain Top of Pool in World League

Following their comprehensive victory over Spain 24 hours earlier, the Hockeyroos came from behind to share the spoils with hosts England at the Investec World League tournament in London.

It was a match in which the Hockeyroos improved throughout and a result that keeps Australia top of Pool B, ahead of a crucial quarter final on Thursday, which will go a long way to determining qualification for the 2014 World Cup.

Trailing at half time to a goal by England’s Hollie Webb, Jodie Schulz’s second half rocket of a penalty corner earned the Hockeyroos a deserved equaliser with ten minutes remaining. And it could have been even better had Schulz not seen another effort in the final minute of the match well saved by the English goalkeeper.

AIS-WAIS striker Ashleigh Nelson is part of the Australian squad competing at the World League tournament in London.

Head coach Adam Commens said afterwards, “I thought it was a game we started really well. We created a number of chances and were unlucky not to be ahead. England defended defiantly and tried to counter attack us; we need to learn how to play against that.

“We got better and better as the match went on and we’re still top of the pool, which means our destiny is in our own hands. A good performance against South Africa [in the final pool match] should give us a good draw for the quarter-finals.”

Despite enjoying the best of the early possession and winning a penalty corner, Australia found themselves behind at half time through Webb’s well struck shot from a 25th minute corner.

Three minutes after the restart Hockeyroos’ goalkeeper Rachael Lynch pulled off an outstanding save to maintain the one goal deficit as she acrobatically hooked the ball away from underneath the crossbar just as Hannah Macleod looked certain to double England’s lead. The save was to prove important.

Australia’s equaliser, when it came, was all about the power and pinpoint accuracy of Schulz’s flick as she fired a shot across Maddie Hinch’s goal and inside the opposite post. It was the goal that the Hockeyroos deserved and sparked a highly entertaining final ten minutes with both sides going for the victory.

The Hockeyroos came closest to snatching all three points; first, Georgia Nanscawen’s bravery saw her connect with a cross from right but she was denied at point blank range by the goalkeeper, Hinch; and a well-judged decision to use the video referral two minutes from the end handed a further opportunity to Schulz late on. This time opting to shoot low, her flick was on target for the bottom corner but Hinch was equal to the task, deflecting the ball out to safety and ensuring that the match finished level; 1-1 the final score.

It means that Australia still top the group on goal difference from England, holding the coveted number one position that would mean a quarter-final showdown against the bottom team in Pool A, currently USA who suffered a surprise defeat to Italy earlier in the day.

The Hockeyroos third and final pool match is against South Africa at 2:30am AEST on Wednesday, 26 June. The match will be streamed live online at www.youtube.com/fihockey.

Earlier:

The Hockeyroos got their Investec World League campaign off to an emphatic start with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Spain in London on day one.

Having been held at bay for much of the first half, Georgia Nanscawen’s goal just before half time opened the floodgates for a second period that witnessed goals from Claire Messent, Kellie White and Emily Hurtz, plus an unfortunate Spanish own goal, rounding off an intelligent performance by the Hockeyroos.

Head Coach Adam Commens was delighted with his side’s performance, saying afterwards, “I’m really pleased with the result and the performance. Spain can be a little tricky and they proved that in the first 20 minutes or so, but we knew if we persisted and adapted we’d get the result.

“I was pleased with the perseverance and our ability to learn during the match as we adapted to how they fell off and that’s a credit to our players.”

For Hockeyroos captain Madonna Blyth the match held special significance as she stepped out to represent her country for the 250th time. In doing so, she becomes only the fifth Australian woman to make 250 appearances, following in the footsteps of Nikki Hudson (303), Rochelle Hawkes (279), Karen Smith (271) and Katrina Powell (252).

Speaking about his captain, Commens said, “Donny was outstanding today. She led by example, she was creative and she ran hard. I think it was one of the best performances I’ve seen from her.”

With a match against England tomorrow, Commens said his focus had already turned to the clash with the tournament hosts: “We’ve got to focus on England now. A good result will give us the chance to top our pool and set us up for the all-important quarter-final.”

The quarter final ties will determine which sides reach the final four, with the top three teams in the tournament gaining qualification for the 2014 World Cup.

Things began brightly for the Hockeyroos with Georgie Parker threatening inside the opening two minutes with a deflection that flew narrowly wide of the post; and a fifth minute penalty corner saw shots saved from newly crowned World Young Player of the Year Anna Flanagan and Georgia Nanscawen as Australia looked to break the deadlock.

Dominant in possession from start to finish, the Hockeyroos might have taken the lead midway through the first half but Ashleigh Nelson’s exciting run along the baseline finished with a shot just wide.

That Nanscawen should score the opener was of little surprise given that she had already seen three good efforts kept out by Spanish goalkeeper Maria Lopez. Two minutes before the break it was Nanscawen who reacted quickest to sweep home from close range after good work by Nelson inside the circle to make it 1-0.

Just over five minutes after the restart Claire Messent doubled the Hockeryoos’ lead to 2-0. An acrobatic triple save by Lopez thwarted shots from Flanagan, Emily Smith and Nanscawen before Victorian Messent tucked the ball home from close range.

And Kellie White made it 3-0 soon after with a shot that looped over the line off the stick of a Spanish defender under pressure from youngster Jane Claxton. They say you create your own luck and that luck continued with an inadvertent own goal by Spanish defender Maria Lopez, off whose foot the ball rolled into the net from Karri McMahon’s penetrating long pass for 4-0.

Despite the Hockeyroos’ command, the Spanish did have one clear opportunity of their own, a rasping shot off the post of newly installed substitute goalkeeper Toni Cronk, but the Australian clean sheet remained intact.

Adding the icing to the cake in the final minute of the match, Emily Hurtz struck to make it 5-0. Casey’s Eastham’s shot from a narrow angle was kicked into the air by the substitute Spanish goalkeeper Ruiz and Hurtz showed great composure to pluck the ball from mid-air before dispatching it back into the goal. Hurtz had been only lately called into the side as a replacement for the injured Jade Warrender.

– HockeyAustralia