Kookaburras Secure Champions Trophy Bronze

The Kookaburras have claimed bronze at the Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar after defeating hosts India 2-1 in the third place playoff.

Goals from Eddie Ockenden and Matt Gohdes were enough for the Kookaburras to edge their hosts in a thrilling match playing in front of a parochial home crowd.

Speaking after the match, Kookaburras Head Coach Graham Reid said, “We played well in halves, the last quarter was a little bit frantic which was disappointing, however, we were able to come away with a win tonight.

“When I look back over the past week, I can see the group has progressed by getting better. It was a much tighter game tonight and we gave India less opportunities than when we recently played them in the Perth Tests last month. The boys will now be able to rest and recover and we will look at preparation for Rio in 2015.”

Reid discussed the positive impact of bringing a younger squad to the tournament, adding, “This tournament has been a great learning experience for the whole team. They have been developing a lot each day and we as coaching staff have worked very hard in creating a good learning environment for them, which was the main objective of this trip.”

Kookaburras captain, Eddie Ockenden opened the scoring for Australia on 18 minutes after converting a well worked team goal with help from teammate Jake Whetton. 

Australian goalkeeper and WAIS athlete Tyler Lovell alongside the green and gold defence that included fellow WAIS scholarship holder Fergus Kavanagh, held off India’s attacks for the first two quarters, but India drew level in the 42nd minute, after Lalit Upadhyay was able to quickly slot the ball behind Australian goalkeeper Lovell following a scramble from an Indian penalty corner.

Matt Gohdes proved the match winner for Australia after launching himself at the ball, to score off a rebound off the goalkeepers pads from a Jake Whetton strike with 18 minutes remaining.

Capping off the win and a great performance, Kookaburras forward Jake Whetton was awarded Hero Man of the Match.

The Kookaburras will now take a well-earned break after a successful year with a World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold medal. A handful of the Kookaburras will return to India in January to participate in the third season of the Hockey India League.

– HockeyAus