Kookaburras Undone by Late Goal

A last gasp goal to Germany has seen the young Kookaburras outfit begin its European tour with a 4-3 defeat in Hamburg.

The Kookaburras started well despite wasting some chances in front of goal, eventually opened the scoring at the eight minute mark via a Luke Doerner penalty corner.

Germany hit back, scoring their own penalty corner at the 22 minute mark to level the score. The Kookaburras edged the first half, but were unable to transfer this onto the scoreboard, entering the half time break on level terms.

Germany made the Kookaburras pay early in the second half, exploiting the inexperience of the Australian defence to score two goals and move to a comfortable 3-1 lead.

The Kookaburras refused to concede defeat however, with youngsters Jason Wilson and Simon Orchard scoring two goals within two minutes to draw level with six minutes remaining.

It appeared as though the match was destined for a draw, but a defensive lapse saw Germany score with just 45 seconds remaining on the clock to win a very tight and entertaining encounter.

Midfielder Simon Orchard produced a solid display for the kookaburras, while fellow youngster and WAIS scholarship holder Graeme Begbie showed he could cut it against the reigning Olympic champions.

The Kookaburras will again face Germany on Tuesday 2 June as part of their European tour which also sees them compete in the Hamburg Masters, where they will face; Germany, Netherlands and England from June 4-7.

WAIS is represented by Graeme Begbie, Fergus Kavanagh, Kiel Brown and Ross Meadows in the current Kookaburras tour squad.