Kookaburras Salute Knowles’ Milestone with World Cup Qualification
Australia has defeated Egypt 4-0 to reach the semi-final stage of the World League Semi-Final in South Africa, qualifying for the 2018 World Cup tournament in the process as captain Mark Knowles celebrated his 300thinternational match.
With the carrot of world cup qualification presented in tandem with a significant milestone for a Kookaburras’ great, it came as little surprise that Australia produced a spirited performance to overwhelm their African counterparts.
The Australians controlled the match throughout and opened the scoring through a penalty corner goal to Jeremy Hayward on 10 minutes.
A Jake Whetton brace provided the bookends to a Matt Swan field goal as the Australians ensured Knowles’ 300th cap for the green and gold would be a memorable one.
Kookaburras head coach Colin Batch said his side had got the job done and had honoured their inspirational captain.
“I think we did what was required tonight and we won the game, so I’m very pleased to have the win and to have reached the semi-final which will take place on Friday.
“We’ve had a good performance so far in this tournament and we need to reach our best level for the next match which is the semi-final.
“It’s also important that we acknowledge Mark Knowles who has reached a milestone 300 caps tonight and whose career continues to flourish, along with Daniel Beale who has reached 100 international caps at this tournament.”
The Australian squad includes WA athletes; Trent Mitton, Aran Zalewski, Tom Wickham and Tyler Lovell.
The Kookaburras next play in the semi-final on Friday, against Belgium who defeated New Zealand in their quarter final clash. The semi-final will be broadcast Live on Fox Sports Australia.
Photo: World Sports Pics