The Kookaburras are striking distance away from taking top spot on the FIH Pro League standings after securing another perfect 3-point victory in India, this time over League newcomers Ireland.
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Sitting just two points shy of the Netherlands with two games left to play in this leg, Australia is getting off to a dream start, just months out from the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Having scored four or more goals and beaten every opponent in the current tour of the season, the Kookaburras had well and truly sent a warning to their nearest rivals.
Ireland, were still eyeing their first win in the FIH Pro League ever and they knew they were up against it, just one week after they suffered a 0-5 lost to the Australians.
While, less than 24 hours after beating Spain 4-1, Kookaburras coach Colin Batch had decided to make six changes to his line-up.
Making his return after being rested against Spain was prolific goal scorer Blake Govers and his presence was welcomed early in the third quarter when a perfect strike off the penalty corner finally saw Australia break the deadlock after 33 minutes.
“It’s been awesome to come away so early in the Olympic year and bring a massive squad with us,” skipper Eddie Ockenden said.
“We’ve just got a great group at the moment, we had some changes towards the end of last year and the guys are really learning and improving a lot over the performances on the field.”
“I think you can tell how much enjoyment and excitement we’re playing with, it’s a great group of guys to tour with, and play hockey with, and I think that vibe is coming onto the field with us.”
Before that, Ireland’s defensive structure was frustrating the Australians who were desperate to play a faster brand of hockey.
But it was working, and despite Australia having plenty of opportunities with eight penalty corners, they couldn’t find the back of the net, until Blake Govers finally curved it past the goalie.
From there, the flood gates eventually opened for Australia, and they quickly had another off the next penalty corner through Victoria’s Nathan Ephraums, who scored his second goal in 24 hours.
Ireland answered back not too long after with a great strike from their ever-dangerous goal scorer Shane O’Donoghue.
But that’s as good as it would get for Ireland, as Blake Govers quickly bagged another with his third double of this tournament.
Then with a beautiful, powerful strike Jack Welch claimed his 12th career goal, in his usual impressive fashion.
“Jack’s going well, the boys love seeing when he’s up and about and scoring, I think you probably saw tonight how happy everyone was for him,” Ockenden said.
“He puts the hard yards in and it’s nice to see him rewarded tonight.”
Just two tough matches remain for the Kookaburras at the FIH Pro League in India.
They’ll welcome a one day break before running out in front of a charged crowd to play hosts India on Saturday night, just one week after they beat them 6-4 in a thrilling match in Bhubaneswar.
Then the Netherlands await in what will be a hotly-anticipated top of the table clash on Sunday night.
“We have another great opportunity with two huge games coming up this weekend and two quality opposition, India with a massive crowd and the Netherlands again, it’s great practice for us and it’s a great challenge for us moving forward so we’re looking forward to it.
Match Details
Kookaburras: 4 (Blake Govers 33’ & 52’, Nathan Ephraums 40’, Jack Welch 56’)
Ireland: 1 (Shane O’Donoghue 44’)
In Rourkela, India
Kookaburras: 3. Corey Weyer, 4. Jake Harvie, 5. Tom Wickham, 9. Jacob Anderson, 10. Joshua Beltz, 13. Blake Govers, 15. Jayden Atkinson, 16. Tim Howard, 22. Flynn Ogilvie, 23. Daniel Beale, 30. Andrew Charter (gk), 1. Lachlan Sharp, 7. Nathan Ephraums, 8. Johan Durst (gk), 11. Eddie Ockenden (c), 20. Ky Willott, 21. Jack Welch, 26. James Collins
