HOCKEY: Jake Whetton’s goal five minutes after the starting whistle triggered the Kookaburras’ firepower which resulted in a 7-0 victory over Korea in their second match of the men’s International Challenge in Hobart

There was no holding back for the Kookaburras after Jake Whetton opened the floodgates five minutes into the start of the match. Awarded their first penalty corner of the International Challenge, Whetton quickly picked up a rebound shot after Korea’s goalkeeper Pyo Doo Hong denied Chris Ciriello’s drag flick, pushing the Kookaburras in front 1-0.

Following two minutes later, the Kookaburras received a second opportunity at converting a penalty corner. Matt Gohdes, stepping up to the top of the circle, netted Australia’s second goal with an on-target slap shot.

Unable to work a penalty corner in their previous match against Pakistan, it was clear the Kookaburras had done their homework. Receiving another penalty corner opportunity at the 19th minute mark, Northern Territories youngster, Jeremey Hayward, sent a powerful drag flick into the back of the net, adding to the score, 3-0.

Focused and working together as a team, Jamie Dwyer also found the back of the net after taking a quick shot at the top of the circle only seconds before the halftime siren. Dwyer’s goal offered the Kookaburras breathing space coming into the third quarter with a 4-0 lead.

Doubling up, Whetton and Gohdes each scored their second goal of the night in the 37th and 39th minutes. Showcasing great skill, Whetton’s tomahawk could not be denied by goalkeeper Jaehyeon Kim and Gohdes’ quick shot away in their attacking circle had the Kookaburras sitting on 6-0 lead.

Awarded another penalty corner in the 44th minute, due to unfair play by Korea, New South Wales’ Matthew Dawson secured himself his first international goal after firing a fast paced drag flick to the top left of the net, locking down a 7-0 victory for the Kookaburras over Korea.

Pleased with the team’s second test match performance, Kookaburras head coach Graham Reid commented, “It’s hard when you’re up 4-0 coming into halftime and then 6-0 coming into the third quarter to stay focused. One of the things we spoke about was keeping it simple in the last quarter, which they achieved. Overall, I was really happy with the team’s performance today.”

Discussing penalty corners and their recovery after playing Pakistan on Saturday, Reid added, “We have been doing a lot of work on our penalty corner attacks and today we converted four of our penalty corner opportunities, which is very pleasing to see.

“The team has recovered well here in Hobart and it has been a good bonding experience for all of us. We have all learnt a lot with 40 traveling athletes and the guys have really stepped up to the challenge performing well.”

The Kookaburras’ third test match will take place on Tuesday 5 May at 7pm AEST against Trans-Tasman rivals, the New Zealand Black Sticks. The Kookaburras last met the Kiwis at the recent Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final, where the Kookaburras went down to the Black Sticks 3-1 on a shoot-out.

Australia A Summary
The Australia ‘A’ squad finished up their final test match of the challenge against Pakistan with a 3-1 victory. Australian goals were scored by Trent Mitton, Blake Govers and Glenn Simpson during the 2nd, 21st and 43rd minutes. The Australia ‘A’ squad have concluded their test matches at the men’s Hobart International Challenge and the Kookaburras will now take on the New Zeeland Black Sticks, Pakistan and Korea in the final four matches of the event.

Please note - There will be no live streaming of the matches at the men's Hobart International Challenge. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

Kookaburras squad v Korea
Name (Hometown/State) Caps/Goals
Started
Andrew Charter (GK) (Canberra, ACT) 86/0
Christopher Ciriello (Melbourne, VIC) 157/99
Tim Cross (Eaglemont, VIC) 7/1
Matthew Dawson (Central Coast, NSW) 17/1
Tim Deavin (Launceston, TAS) 102/4
Jamie Dwyer (Rockhampton, QLD) 329/215
Mark Knowles (C) (Rockhampton, QLD) 253/22
Eddie Ockenden (Hobart, TAS) 239/60
Dylan Wotherspoon (Murwillumbah, QLD) 11/3
Jake Whetton (Brisbane, QLD) 86/37
Aran Zalewski (Margaret River, WA) 53/4

Used Substitute
Daniel Beale (Brisbane, QLD) 51/9
Matt Gohdes (Rockhampton, QLD) 118/35
Jeremy Edwards (Howrah, TAS) 6/1
Jeremy Hayward (Darwin, NT) 34/12
Tyler Lovell (GK) (Perth, WA) 38/0
Simon Orchard (Maitland, NSW) 165/50
Matthew Willis (Victoria Park, NSW) 7/1

Australia 'A' squad v Pakistan
Name (Hometown/State)
Started
Christopher Bausor (Perth, WA)
Robert Bell (Brisbane, QLD)
Nick Budgeon (Hobart, TAS)
Justin Douglas (Townsville, QLD)
Jack Hayes (Albion Park, NSW)
Leon Hayward (GK) (Darwin, NT)
Kurt Mackey (Lauderdale, TAS)
Trent Mitton (Perth, WA)
Flynn Ogilvie (Wollongong, NSW)
Glenn Simpson (Melbourne, VIC)
Tristan White (Wollongong, NSW)

Used Substitute
Graham Begbie (Perth, WA)
Kiel Brown (Toowoomba, QLD)
Tristan Clemons (GK) (Ferndale, WA)
Blake Govers (Wollongong, NSW)
Casey Hammond (Bundoora, VIC)
Simon Borger (Brisbane, QLD)

Did Not Play
Kiran Arunasalam (Doncaster, East VIC)

Match Results - Sunday 3 May
Australia 'A' v Pakistan (3-1)
Kookaburras v Korea (7-0)
Match Schedule
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]

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