HOCKEY: Mariah William’s perseverance and Jodie Kenny’s penalty prowess powered the Hockeyroos to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over China to tie the series in Sydney on Easter Monday.
Having fallen behind against the run of play to Xi Xiayun’s second quarter penalty corner, Williams hit back early in the third, converting at the second attempt following a good save from Li Dongxiao. Zhang Xiaoxue’s instant response at the other end put the visitors back in front but when Brooke Peris’ goal-bound shot was illegally blocked by the body of a Chinese defender, Kenny stepped up to flick home the resulting penalty stroke and level the match 2-2.
And it was Kenny who would ultimately help the Hockeyroos take victory, as she did so often last year, with a penalty corner conversion four minutes from full time. Having seen previous efforts repeatedly charged down by the Chinese defence, her changed position at the top of the circle allowed her to flick across goal into the far side of the net to make it 3-2.
The three-game International Challenge started with a loss to the Aussie's as they went down 4-1. However, the second match saw a goal two minutes before half time from Hockeyroos forward Georgia Nanscawen helped the Australian women to a 1-1 draw with China in their second match.
Hockeyroos Coach Adam Commens was pleased with the improvement his side showed over the three match series.
He said, “I thought we improved again today. There was some really encouraging signs particularly in the second half. Our physicality and our ability to run a game out was excellent.
“I thought we really dominated them, particularly in those last two quarters, and we deserved to get the victory. A couple of details we need to tidy up - I think it shows we’re a little bit rusty in our gameplay - but if we tidy them up it’s a good performance and something that starts the year off well."
The series was the Hockeyroos’ first on Australian turf outside of Western Australia in more than two years and Commens added, “I think these types of matches in Australia are really important and we need to make them happen more often. Our ability to expose younger players, we really only get the opportunity to do that in these home series and for the importance of our sustainability moving forward we need to have these types of series.”
Two-time Olympian Teneal Attard was recognised before the match with Commens presenting the midfielder with a bouquet of flowers to mark her 200th appearance for the Hockeyroos while there was also a moment’s silence for former Australian men’s goalkeeper and three-time Olympian Paul Dearing who passed away over the weekend.
Speaking afterwards, Attard said, “It’s a great honour to play 200 in the green and gold. I feel very privileged and lucky to be part of a group that’s so amazing. I’m really happy.”
On the match, she added, “It’s always good to get a win. Personally, I thought I played really well, worked hard and tried to get the group up. We progressed really well through the three games here against China. I think that’s the important thing and we’ll look to build for New Zealand."
The Hockeyroos dominated the match for large parts, winning 12 penalty corners, but it was Australian goalkeeper Ashlee Wells who was called upon first as she pulled off a good early double save.
Georgie Parker, Eddie Bone and Mariah Williams all had chances either side of China’s opener before Williams’ perseverance paid off as she flicked the ball into the goal at the second attempt. China’s instantaneous equaliser aside it was one-way traffic in the final two periods with Georgie Morgan and Jodie Kenny both coming close with penalty corners before Peris won the penalty stroke.
The Hockeyroos now head to New Zealand for the Hawke's Bay Cup, an invitational eight-nation tournament featuring New Zealand, Argentina, USA, China, Japan, Korea and India. Their first match is against USA on Saturday afternoon.
The Hockeyroos v China International Challenge is supported by the NSW Government, through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.
Hockeyroos Squad
Athlete (Hometown, State) caps/goals
Started
Teneal Attard (Mackay, QLD) 200/10
Madonna Blyth (Brisbane, QLD) 295/65
Edwina Bone (Evatt, ACT) 65/2
Kirstin Dwyer (Mackay, QLD) 67/2
Jodie Kenny (Wamuran, QLD) 131/75
Georgia Nanscawen (Melbourne, VIC) 149/30
Brooke Peris (Darwin, NT) 47/8
Emily Smith (Crookwell, NSW) 111/46
Renee Taylor (Everton Park, QLD) 3/0
Ashlee Wells (Morwell, VIC) 45/0
Mariah Williams (Parkes, NSW) 8/2
Used Substitute
Savannah Fitzpatrick (Cabarita Beach, NSW) 3/0
Kate Hanna (Constitution Hill, NSW) 3/0
Kate Jenner (Tamworth, NSW) 109/1
Rachael Lynch (Melbourne, VIC) 119/0
Georgina Morgan (Armidale, NSW) 6/0
Georgie Parker (Berri, SA) 72/23
Amelia Spence (Hobart, TAS) 10/1
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