Hockeyroos Win Hawke’s Bay Cup
A late penalty corner drag flick goal from Jodie Kenny secured the Hockeyroos a 3-2 victory in the final of the 2015 Hawke’s Bay Cup over hosts New Zealand.
Speaking after the match Hockeyroos Head Coach Adam Commens said, “It wasn’t our prettiest performance tonight, however, ultimately it was a victory. I think tonight we learnt a lot about our team and where we need to be if we want to be consistently winning tournaments. A gold medal is what we came here for and we are satisfied with the final result tonight.”
The Black Sticks made the perfect start taking an early 1-0 lead after Kiwi Gemma Flynn found space to run into the attacking circle, and convert with the first shot on target in the opening minute of the match.
After a steady second quarter, the Hockeyroos opened the flood gates 10 minutes after the halftime break. Awarded a penalty corner at the 40th minute mark, Georgina Morgan’s drag flick was quickly deflected past Kiwi goalkeeper Amelia Gibson and into the net by Hockeyroos forward Emily Smith, levelling the final at 1-1.
Four minutes after Smith’s goal, Brooke Peris was able to push the Australians ahead after Smith fed a fast paced ball onto Peris’ stick, and past the keeper.
The Black Sticks needed just 60 seconds to restore parity, with Olivia Merry showing her skill, to work the ball around Hockeyroos goalkeeper Ashlee Wells and into the goal, setting up a tense finale.
The hosts plied plenty of pressure on the Hockeyroos – who managed to successfully hold out the Black Sticks heading into the conclusion.
With just seconds remaining on the clock and a shootout looming, the Hockeyroos conjured memories of their famous Glasgow Commonwealth Games escape – with a penalty corner goal at the death this time sealing the win rather than penalties.
Setting up a strong battery, world class drag flicker Jodie Kenny stepped forward, dragging the ball into the top of the net and securing the Hockeyroos a 3-2 victory and the 2015 Hawke’s Bay Cup title.
WAIS athletes Ashleigh Nelson and Kathryn Slattery both featured in the match for the Hockeyroos.
With the World League Semi Finals commencing in Antwerp in just over two months’ time, Commens gave insight into the type of squad his looking to select ahead of the Olympic qualifying event in June.
“It will be a similar line up to tonight. We have Anna Flanagan and Casey Sablowski to come back in and they are two world class players. They will hopefully strengthen our squad alongside developing our group that we have brought here to New Zealand, as well as some of our other players that have contributed throughout the tests against China to ultimately put forward our best 18 players.”
The World League Semi Finals – will be held in Antwerp, Belgium from June 20 to July 5. As part of Pool B, the Hockeyroos will face Belgium, India, New Zealand and Poland in the hope to guarantee their place at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
-with HockeyAus
