Kookaburras off to Perfect Start at Azlan Shah Cup
A perfect start for the Kookaburras, at the Azlan Shah Cup, has allowed them to clinch a finals spot with one match still to play in the preliminary round.
The Kookaburras have notched up an impressive four from four wins at the international tournament, which is currently being played in Malaysia.
Commencing their campaign last Saturday, the Aussies took on England.
The start of the game was delayed by rain however once the match was underway the Australian side could not be stopped, scoring four goals to England’s one and running away with a comfortable win.
Heading in to game two on Sunday evening, the home side were the next victims of Australia’s dominance.
The Kookaburras came out of the gates strong, scoring two unanswered goals in the first half.
They pushed further ahead in the third as Aaron Kleinschmidt found the net in the 43rd minute.
It was too little too late as Malaysia notched up their first and only goal in the 53rd minute, Australia finishing as 3-1 victors.
With game three played on Tuesday night, the Aussies showed no signs of slowing down as they took on the side from India.
The Kookaburras were the first to convert, Mark Knowles scoring their first goal in the 28th minute of the match.
This was followed by a further three goals, giving the Aussies a 4-0 lead heading in to the final break.
The Indian side showed fight in the last quarter as Ramandeep Singh found the net twice in the space of two minutes.
Despite the increase in pressure from their opposition, the Australians managed to hold on defeating India 4-2 as the final whistle blew.
An undefeated run heading in to game four continued on as Australia defeated Ireland 4-1, securing themselves a place in the finals.
The Kookaburras ran away early to carry a 2-0 lead in to the first break.
They extended this by a further goal at the main break.
A quiet third quarter saw neither side add to their goal tally.
Strong efforts from both sides in the fourth saw the scoring ramp up again, the Australian’s scoring their fourth early before Ireland hit back with their first in the 57th minute.
The Kookaburras will play their final match, before the finals series, tomorrow evening (9/3/18) at 4:05pm (AWST) against Argentina.
Photo c/o Hockey Australia
- Annika Lee-Jones
