HOCKEY: The Australian men's hockey team took on India in their third game at the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia last night with Australia coming away victorious, the final score AUS 3 – 1 IND.
With both teams missing early chances to score on penalty corners it took until the 26th minute of play for India to get the first goal of the game, with Harmanpreet Singh scoring a field goal with a quick run across the face of the net.
In final minute of the half it was Eddie Ockenden who levelled the playing field between the two sides, with Jeremy Hayward flicking from a distance into the pads of goal keeper Akash Chikte before Ockenden scored from the deflection.
With more missed penalty corner opportunities minutes into the second half, it was Tom Craig who gave the Kookaburras the lead for the first time in the match; trapping a pass from Matt Swann before reverse flicking the ball into the net to score a field goal.
Trailing the Kookaburras with just 15 minutes to go in the game, India pressed hard to create penalty corner opportunities which they struggled to convert. In the 51st minute of play, the Kookaburras further extended their lead thanks to a field goal from Tom Wickham.
With just over five minutes to go, India replaced their goalkeeper with Rupinder Pal Singh as the kicking back in a last bid to reclaim the match, but Australia held on to the lead to take out their second win of the tournament.
Kookaburras head coach Colin Batch said: “We coped with the hot conditions tonight very well and I was pleased with the result. We came from behind and were able to improve our performance during the game.
“We started off well in the first few minutes, but after that India had a long period on top. Just before half time Eddie Ockenden scored which significantly turned the game around for us. Eddie had a stand out game and is playing very well up in the forward line."
The Kookaburras next play Great Britain on Wednesday, May 3 at 6.05pm AWST / 8.05pm AEST.
Kookaburras squad v India
Tom Craig (Lane Cove, NSW) 31/14
Matthew Dawson (Killarney Vale, NSW) 69/9
Jeremy Edwards (Hobart, TAS) 15/1
Jeremy Hayward (Darwin, NT) 76/26
Tyler Lovell (Perth, WA) 82/9
Trent Mitton (Perth, WA) 109/47
Edward Ockenden (Hobart, TAS) 287/66
Flynn Ogilvie (Wollongong, NSW) 50/13
Matthew Swann (Mackay, QLD) 149/6
Jake Whetton (Brisbane, QLD) 121/48
Dylan Wotherspoon (Murwillumbah, NSW) *plays for QLD 33/7
Used Substitutes
Andrew Charter (Canberra, ACT) 125/0
Ben Craig (Lane Cove, NSW) 15/2
Aaron Kleinschmidt (Melbourne, VIC) 16/5
Andrew Philpott (Melbourne, VIC) 32/1
Joshua Pollard (Melbourne, VIC) 16/0
Matthew Willis (Tamworth, NSW) 23/2
Tom Wickham (Morgan, SA) *plays for WA 9/3
Kookaburras Azlan Shah Match Schedule
3 May: AUS v GBR 6.05pm AWST / 8.05pm AEST
5 May: AUS v JPN 6.05pm AWST / 8.05pm AEST
6 May: Finals
Hockey Australia
