The Kookaburras have fired a warning to their Olympic rivals, with a clean series sweep over world number 5 India at the Perth International Festival of Hockey.
Acknowledging India as a tough opponent to beat following another come-from-behind win, Kookaburras striker Ky Willott hyped up his side and credited their exceptional fitness for being able to deliver a fast, aggressive style of play for the full match, time and time again.
“We’re never out of it until the last quarter,” Willott said post-match.
“I think we’re the fittest team in the world and I can say that confidently. We run over teams in the end, so it’s very pleasing. Even when we go one-nil down, we stick together.”
For the second game in a row, India’s skipper Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring within 5 minutes, as they hunted their first win on Australian soil.
But as another packed grandstand roared and got behind their local heroes, Australia lifted and Jeremy Hayward once again found a way to level the score, nailing a penalty stroke straight into the back of the net.
After half-time, the Kookaburras found momentum and they found it quick. The break came from an incredible tackle by Player of the Match Nathan Ephraums, to swing possession back in the Kookaburras favour and they pounced.
Charging back towards their goal it would be Willott who would finish it off with a fast strike and in what was a pivotal two minutes in the match, Tim Brand would bag his 49th career goal and Australia held a comfortable 3-1 lead.
The pressure piled back on the Kookaburras in the fourth after India scored once again but that’s where the score would sit.
A 3-2 win and a trophy lift to celebrate, as the Kookaburras lifted the Perth Cup in front of their home crowd. Their 12th win in 13 matches this year.
“Coming back from those deficits, I think it’s it holds us in really good stead going forward,” NSW’s Lachlan Sharp said post-match.
“You can see on the field we’re really enjoying ourselves and I think it’s really showing… We’re mates off the field, mates on the field, we’ve got each other’s back so I think that really drives our confidence.”
“Confidence is key for any team so I think we’re really showing that at the moment.”
The Kookaburras Olympic campaign continues in Europe next month. When they take on Belgium, Great Britain, Argentina and Germany in the next round of the FIH Pro League.
You can view the full FIH Pro League schedule here.
All matches will be streamed live and free on 7Plus.
Match Details
Kookaburras: 3 (Jeremy Hayward 20′, Ky Willott 38′, Tim Brand 39′)
India: 2 (Harmanpreet Singh 4′, Singh Boby Dhami 53′)
At Perth Hockey Stadium
Kookaburras: 1. Lachlan Sharp, 3. Corey Weyer, 4. Jake Harvie, 5. Tom Wickham, 6. Matt Dawson, 7. Nathan Ephraums, 9. Jacob Anderson, 10. Joshua Beltz, 11. Eddie Ockenden, 15. Jayden Atkinson, 17. Aran Zalewski (c), 19. Craig Marais, 20. Ky Willott, 21. Jack Welch, 29. Tim Brand, 30. Andrew Charter, 32. Jeremy Hayward
Unused substitute: 8. Johan Durst (gk)
