Kookaburras Defeat Great Britain in Champions Trophy

The Kookaburras have responded to their poor opening game at the 2011 Champions Trophy, defeating Great Britain 4-1 during the second day of play at the Champions Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand.

Although they came away with a 3-2 win on the opening day against Spain, the match was not played to the standard the Kookaburras were hoping for, resulting in the team coming out determined for an improved performance against Great Britain.

Starting the match with much more enthusiasm the Kookaburras were in attack mode from the opening whistle which resulted in a number of early circle penetrations and chances near the goal.

Their best opportunity came via a penalty corner at the three minute mark which was taken by Chris Ciriello. The shot was well saved as was the follow up by Jason Wilson.

Australia continued to dominate possession and circle penetrations as Great Britain struggled to contain the Australian attack.

Eventually the Kookaburras were rewarded following a brilliant pass from AIS-WAIS athlete Fergus Kavanagh which found Matthew Butturini who showed real class to not panic and deliver a perfect ball past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 early in the game.

The Kookaburras continued to have the better of the half and their increased pressure in defence was evident compared to their opening game against Spain. This was displayed after a great chase from Matthew Swann following a break away by Great Britain which looked certain to result in a shot on goal only for Swann to show real desperation and force the ball out of play.

Following a period where Great Britain had steadied and began to generate their own shots on goal, the Kookaburras delivered another blow thanks to young striker Matt Gohdes in only his first Champions Trophy tournament. The goal was protested by Great Britain, claiming a stick block by Gohdes which resulted in Great Britain using their video referral. The referral was denied, giving Australia their second goal and real control on the game.

From here the Kookaburras lifted their intensity even further, putting Great Britain under real pressure in the final minutes of the half. However despite the good play of the Kookaburras they were unable to add to their two goals, allowing Great Britain to remain in the game at the half time break.

Things continued to go the way of the Kookaburras after Glenn Simpson forced a penalty corner early in the second half after a foot violation. The resultant shot however, was not converted.

The remainder of the second half played out as a fairly even contest. When Simon Mantell beat Matthew Swann outside the circle and delivered a fantastic shot on goal with 14 minutes remaining Great Britain was within striking distance at 2-1.

Jamie Dwyer, the hero in the first game of the tournament against Spain, stepped up for the Kookaburras only minutes later, giving Australia breathing space by converting the Kookaburras’ third goal thanks to a great pass from Glenn Simpson.

Great Britain had a chance for an immediate response after they were awarded a penalty corner but a fast delivery by Ashley Jackson was well saved by Australian goalkeeper George Bazeley.

The knockout blow was delivered by Australia with only minutes remaining with Luke Doerner, having only just returned from injury to compete in his first tournament of the year, scored Australia’s fourth goal from a penalty corner to seal the win.

Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth said his team improved on their performance compared to their opening game, however still noted areas of improvement required by the team including goal conversion.

“We were much better today, but maybe you are only as good as your opposition allows you. But we were better today. We were prolific at the front, we made a lot of chances that we didn’t finish so that was disappointing. We were pretty solid at the back which was good,” said Charlesworth.

Charlesworth also noted the need to convert more penalty corners given they have only scored twice from nine attempts so far this tournament.

“One hit the runner, a player got his stick to the ball on another one, so we aren’t happy with that. I thought we should have had more corners today but I’m never happy with that type of conversion rate,” said Charlesworth.

Charlesworth said the win will most likely see them advance to the next round however they will remain focused on tomorrow’s game against Pakistan.

“I think it means we will be in the second round now which gives you some comfort but it means you will end up playing Germany and Holland who were very good the other day, so that is what we have to contend with next.

We just played them (Pakistan) in some matches in Australia so we have seen them recently. They are a difficult team to play against, very defensive. So we understand what we are up against,” said Charlesworth.

For video of the Kookaburras win, click here.

-HockeyAustralia