HOCKEY: The Kookaburras have been victorious over India in the final of the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia.
The Australian team dominated the series, winning every match they played and showing that they are a force to be reckoned with.
The game kicked off with a relatively quiet first quarter, with both teams failing to convert opportunities to goals. Twenty-five minutes into the second quarter and Tom Craig managed to collect a ball inside the circle, netting it into the goal.
At the beginning of the third quarter, India were straight of the mark with Ramandeep Singh attempting a goal to equalise the match, however goalkeeper Andrew Charter quickly thwarted the attempt.
Tom Craig was quick to get the ball back for the Kookaburras, knocking in his second field goal of the match.
Matt Swann made an attempt on goal at the 43rd minute of the match that was quickly rebutted by Akash Chikte, however Matt Gohdes celebrating his 150th cap was quick to slam the loose rebound back into the net.
With nine minutes left of the game, Mandeep Singh missed a crucial opportunity to get India into the game, after he mistimed his flick with only the Kookaburras keeper in his way.
With only four minutes to go, Matt Gohdes sealed the victory for Australia in the Azlan Shah Cup final, trapping an overhead pass from centre field and using a reverse stick hit to fly the ball into goal.
Kookaburras Head Coach, Graham Reid said: “It was a really first class performance for the boys today. Good to see some of the things we’ve worked on a lot this tour being put into action.
“It was a really good defensive effort, one particularly in the third quarter and one towards the end of the game. The boys really worked hard throughout the game. It was great to see a couple of nice goals in there from Tom as well.
“There’s a long way to go to Rio, so it’s important to celebrate these milestones, but we’ll be back into training next week.”
Earlier in the evening New Zealand defeated Malaysia to take out third place at the cup, by means of a shoot-out after the score was tied at 3 – 3 at the full time siren.
Results & Fixtures, today
PAK 3 – 1 CAN
NZL 3 – 3 MAS (5 – 4 SO)
AUS 4 - 0 IND
Kookaburras’ squad v India
Started
Chris Ciriello (Melbourne, VIC) 184/114
Andrew Charter (Canberra, ACT) 108/0
Tom Craig (Lane Cove, NSW) 23/19
Matthew Dawson (Killarney Vale, NSW) 39/6
Matthew Gohdes (Rockhampton, QLD) 150/50
Fergus Kavanagh (Gerladton, WA) 223/15
Mark Knowles (Rockhampton, QLD) 282/23
Eddie Ockenden (Hobart, TAS) 269/64
Flynn Ogilvie (Wollongong, NSW) 26/11
Tristan White (Wollongong, NSW) 73/3
Aran Zalewski (Margaret River, WA) 84/10
Used Substitute
Blake Govers (Wollongong, NSW) 24/20
Jeremy Hayward (Darwin, NT) 52/17
Tyler Lovell (Perth, WA) 64/0
Simon Orchard (Maitland, NSW) 194/55
Matthew Swann (Mackay, QLD) 133/6
Unused Substitute
Jamie Dwyer (Rockhampton, QLD) 357/238
Jacob Whetton (Brisbane, QLD) 102/44
Hockey Australia
