Kookaburras Edge Gutsy Argentines

The Kookaburras returned to the winners list with a 3-0 win over Argentina at Perth Hockey Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Three-time World Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer showed why he is still highly regarded and tightly marked with Australia’s second goal which was then followed by some sublime stick skills to create the third.

His goal was a regulation tap in after Chris Ciriello’s penalty corner rebounded from the pads of Argentinean keeper Juan Espinosa who had already made some crucial saves for the visitors in the first half.

But it was his stick work on the right side of the field with five minutes to go that gave the spectators something to remember.Sandwiched between two defenders at the 23m line, Dwyer somehow managed to squeeze through and with a couple of sharp stick movements, brought the ball with him to open up play on the right side.

Queensland teammate Rob Hammond was the recipient, driving into the circle and despite missing his first attempt to square the ball, made better contact with the second from the baseline to find Glenn Turner who deflected past Espinosa.

Earlier, Jason Wilson opened the scoring from a routine penalty corner flick in the 23rd minute to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at half time.

Australia moved the ball well through the midfield in the first half often finding space in behind the opposition defence but couldn’t convert these chances into goals with the Argentineans retreating quickly.

Australia’s swift ball movement continued in the second with quick switches of play and despite plenty of circle penetrations, they could not find the space to shoot.By contrast the visitors relied heavily on overheads and long hits into a crowded circle in an attempt to deflect the ball towards goal.

Argentina’s best chance of the game came on 54 minutes when Ignacio Berger launched a long diagonal ball over the Australian defence. Lucas Rossi did extremely well to bring the ball down after a slight deflection from the stick of AIS-WAIS athlete Kiel Brown and his run into the circle was capped with a stinging ball across the Australian goal.

With Matias Vila closing in, goalkeeper Nathan Burgers ensured there was enough pressure on the Argentinean captain so that he could not make clean contact and his lunging attempt to score went just wide.

Dwyer doubled the advantage from just their third penalty corner of the game before Turner ended the game as a contest. The win gives the Australian’s a 1-0 lead in the Four Test Series after the opener was drawn on Saturday.

Attention now turns to Sydney where the final two tests will be played next weekend.

Earlier:

The Kookaburras have been stunned by world number seven Argentina, playing out a 2-2 draw in the first of four test matches between the two nations.

In their first match back on home soil since becoming World Champions in March, the Kookaburras started in potent fashion storming out to a two goal lead inside ten minutes.

The signs were ominous early for Argentina as Australia dominated the early phases almost getting on the board through Glenn Turner after just two minutes.

The home side continued to press forward and broke the deadlock minutes later through a Brent Dancer (AIS-WAIS) penalty corner. In the absence of specialist drag flicker Luke Doerner, Dancer stepped up and delivered with a fierce flick mid way up the right side of the net.

Three-time World Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer then made it two-nil after eight minutes with a quick-fire shot to the left of Argentine keeper Juan Manuel Vivaldi.

The Kookaburras onslaught continued as they controlled the play with ease, creating several opportunities to increase the lead.

With fifteen minutes gone, Argentina finally sprung to life with a counter attack from an Australian penalty corner. As Vivaldi made the save, the Argentines broke with pace carrying the ball into their attacking circle where Lucas Rossi pounced on a loose ball and converted passed keeper Nathan Burgers.

The momentum again swung in the favour of the World Champions but a bevy of chances went begging with a relieved Argentina heading to the break just one goal behind.

The Kookaburras started the second half in similar fashion to the first, effortlessly moving the ball around but the Argentina backline were not budging.

With ten minutes gone the match started to level with Argentina pushing forward and winning a penalty corner. The South American’s surprised the hosts with a variation as captain Matias Villa used Ignacio Bergner as a decoy and pushed the ball to the post where Juan Martin Lopez deflected the ball into the net.

The Kookaburras looked to respond quickly to the equaliser as Glenn Turner’s persistence at the top of the circle earned a penalty corner. Victorian Chris Ciriello stepped up for the drag flick but Vivaldi saved his shot.

The chances to win the match continued to flow for the Kookaburras but breaking through the heavy numbers in the Argentine back half was proving hard work.

With less than five minutes remaining midfielder Simon Orchard was presented with a golden opportunity to snatch victory but his shot went wide.

Two minutes from the final whistle, fellow New South Welshman Mark Patterson could’ve done the same but his shot also went wide of the Argentine goal.

– Hockey Australia