HOCKEY: The Kookaburras took to the field in their opening match of the men’s Hobart International Challenge against Pakistan on Saturday afternoon, defeating their opponents 6-0.
It was teamwork that paid dividends for Kookaburras’ forwards Glenn Simpson and Jake Whetton, who opened up the scoring four minutes after the starting whistle. Working together, Simpson fed the ball through to Whetton, who quickly slotted it behind Pakistan’s goalkeeper Imran Butt, pushing the Kookaburras in front with a 1-0 lead.
After playing at the 2014 Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar, Flynn Ogilvie returned to the field, getting the last touch on Jake Whetton’s reverse stick shot in the 11th minute and adding to the Kookaburras' score, 2-0.
Awarded their first penalty corner, Pakistan’s chance to half the deficit came at the 24th minute mark, however, the Kookaburras’ defence was too strong and denied them of their opportunity. Quickly turning the ball around, Trent Mitton, well-positioned, hit the ball from the top of Australia’s attacking circle, netting their third goal of the night.
Unable to convert their attacking opportunities in the third quarter, the Kookaburras kicked into gear in the final 15 minutes of play, scoring three goals nine minutes apart. Making his debut for the green and gold, Blake Govers, the younger brother of Kieran Govers topped his debut match off with an on-target shot at the 49th minute mark.
“Making my debut was an amazing experience and I got to top it off with a goal. I had support on my side tonight, Mum, Dad and Kieran made the trip down here to cheer me on. Scoring the goal was a huge relief, I had a couple of opportunities earlier on in the match which were saved by the keeper, so that last shot was an amazing feeling.”
Hungry for more, Ogilvie quickly added to the Kookaburras’ tally five minutes after Govers’ goal, pushing them in front with a comfortable 5-0 lead. Two minutes before the final siren, Kiel Brown showed off his skill, securing the Kookaburras a 6-0 victory over Pakistan, after successfully hitting his target.
Speaking to Kookaburras head coach Graham Reid, he said, “There was some great performances out on the field today. We’re not going to get too carried away with tonight’s result, keeping in mind that Pakistan only arrived a few days ago and they will become a lot stronger as the event progresses. We got a few of the cobwebs out in today’s match and some great skill was shown by our players.
“Today we focused on our passes, in which we made good movement of the ball throughout the match and overlapping, however, we didn't convert as many goals as we could of. Australia ‘A’ also did a great job at keeping the pressure on Korea earlier today, showing great potential as a team.”
Returning to home soil, Eddie Ockenden, one of the six Tasmanian representatives at the event, was looking forwarded to playing in front of family and friends in the crowd.
“It’s great to come home, I love playing hockey here. For the rest of the team, it’s good to come somewhere different to play. We all love to play hockey across Australia, so it’s a great opportunity to experience new places.”
Prior to the match commencing, Kookaburras captain Mark Knowles was awarded a memorabilia piece for his outstanding achievement of winning the 2014 FIH International Player of the Year Award.
The Kookaburras’ second test match will be against Korea on Sunday 3 May, at 3pm AEST. Australia ‘A’ will also take on Pakistan at 1pm AEST.
Australia ‘A’ Summary
It was a great start for the Australia ‘A’ squad, defeating Korea 3-1 in their first test match of the Challenge. Australian goals were scored by Justin Douglas (2) and Aran Zalewski.
Kookaburras squad v Pakistan
Name (Hometown/State) Caps/Goals
Started
Christopher Bausor (Perth, WA) 14/0
Kiel Brown (Toowoomba, QLD) 155/5
Christopher Ciriello (Melbourne, VIC) 156/99
Jamie Dwyer (Rockhampton, QLD) 328/214
Tim Deavin (Launceston, TAS) 101/4
Blake Govers (Wollongong, NSW) 1/1
Mark Knowles (C) (Rockhampton, QLD) 252/22
Tyler Lovell (GK) (Perth, WA) 37/0
Trent Mitton (Perth, WA) 69/21
Eddie Ockenden (Hobart, TAS) 238/60
Glenn Simpson (Melbourne, VIC) 125/22
Used Substitute
Nick Budgeon (Hobart, TAS) 35/12
Andrew Charter (GK) (Canberra, ACT) 85/0
Matt Gohdes (Rockhampton, QLD) 117/33
Flynn Ogilvie (Wollongong, NSW) 11/3
Simon Orchard (Maitland, NSW) 164/50
Jake Whetton (Brisbane, QLD) 85/35
Tristan White (Wollongong, NSW) 51/3
Australia 'A' squad v Korea
Name (Hometown/State)
Started
Daniel Beale (Brisbane, QLD)
Robert Bell (Brisbane, QLD)
Graham Begbie (Perth, WA)
Tristan Clemons (GK) (Ferndale, WA)
Tim Cross (Eaglemont, VIC)
Justin Douglas (Townsville, QLD)
Casey Hammond (Bundoora, VIC)
Jeremy Hayward (Darwin, NT)
Matthew Willis (Victoria Park, NSW)
Dylan Wotherspoon (Murwillumbah, QLD)
Aran Zalewski (Margaret River, WA)
Used Substitute
Kiran Arunasalam (Doncaster, East VIC)
Simon Borger (Brisbane, QLD)
Matthew Dawson (Central Coast, NSW)
Jeremy Edwards (Howrah, TAS)
Leon Hayward (GK) (Darwin, NT)
Jack Hayes (Albion Park, NSW)
Kurt Mackey (Lauderdale, TAS)
Results: Match One
Australia 'A' v Korea (3-1)
Kookaburras v Pakistan (6-0)
Match Schedule
Sunday 3 May
Australia A v Pakistan [1pm AEST], Kookaburras v Korea [3pm AEST]
Tuesday 5 May
Pakistan v Korea [5pm AEST], Kookaburras v New Zealand Black Sticks [7pm AEST]
Thursday 7 May
New Zealand Black Sticks v Pakistan [5pm AEST], Kookaburras v Korea [7pm AEST]
Saturday 9 May
Pakistan v Korea [4pm AEST], Kookaburras v New Zealand Black Sticks [6pm AEST]
Sunday 10 May
New Zealand Black Sticks v Korea [3pm AEST], Kookaburras v Pakistan [5pm AEST]
Hockey Australia
