Saturday 10 December
Kookaburras 2 New Zealand 1 (1-1 half time)
Goals – Aus Des Abbott 14m FG, NZ Andrew Hayward 31m PC, Aus Eddie Ockenden 58m FG
Pictures by Treeby Images
The Kookaburras have held off a determined New Zealand to remain undefeated at the Champions Trophy with a 2-1 win in Auckland, New Zealand.
With a spot in the final already assured regardless of today’s result the Kookaburras will face off with Spain in tomorrow’s tournament grand final after they defeated the Netherlands today.
If the Kookaburras are successful against Spain tomorrow, they will become the first team ever to win four Champions Trophy titles in a row.
The Kookaburras dominated the early stages of the first half, but were unable to convert this onto the scoreboard thanks in part to the New Zealand defence and goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex.
The shots on goal continued to come for the Kookaburras, and it seemed only a matter of time before one of them would go in.
They eventually got the break they were looking for thanks to smart play between Des Abbott and Glenn Simpson which resulted in a goal to Abbott and a 1-0 lead to the Kookaburras.
As the half went on New Zealand became more dangerous, looking to catch the Kookaburras off guard and score on the rebound. They came close on several occasions and would have succeeded if not for some good defence on the last line of defence by the likes of Matthew Swann and Kiel Brown.
Despite the best efforts of the Australian defence they were left helpless when New Zealand were awarded the first penalty corner of the game, with the conversion making it 1-1.
The Kookaburras were given an opportunity to respond immediately with a penalty corner of their own, however it was unsuccessful, with the teams heading into half time tied up.
New Zealand picked up where they had left off after half time, continuing to put the Australian defence under pressure, with young goalkeeper Andrew Carter doing well to hold out any further score.
Mid way through the half the Kookaburras lifted their pressure close to their goal, causing several turn overs however they were unable to transfer this into goals.
Eventually they regained the lead thanks to a clever play involving Jamie Dwyer and Eddie Ockenden, with Ockenden finishing it off to make it 2-1.
Despite taking the lead New Zealand were arguably still playing the better hockey and with 10 minutes remaining they applied extreme pressure looking for an equaliser. It almost came when they were awarded a penalty corner with the last play of the day, but the shot went wide and the Kookaburras were able to hang on.
“I thought we were very lucky and we didn’t play well. We were profligate in the first half -27 circle penetrations and 11 shots – in the second half we defended grimly but we didn’t do much else. So its hard to know, there was nothing hanging on the result and sometimes that has an effect even though you hope it wouldn’t but that’s a challenge,” said Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth.
Charlesworth said he expects Spain to be a real challenge in tomorrow’s tournament grand final.
“I think Spain are a difficult team for everybody to play, I thought that after the first day and I thought after the first day we might end up playing them in the end and that has come to surpass so I’m not surprised because they are a good team. I thought they would be difficult here because they didn’t play well in Europe. Spain’s team has improved over the last few years, they have brought in some good young players and their senior players are playing well and they have strength in every area,” said Charlesworth.
The Kookaburras will enter the final as favourites having defeated Spain 3-2 on the first day of the tournament.
The match will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and delayed on ABC from 5.30pm.
For further information contact Shaun Anderson on 0412 654 931.
