Australia

by Hockey Australia.

OCEANIA JUNIOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

It was a mixed night for Australia’s under 21 hockey teams at the Oceania Junior World Cup Qualifiers in Wellington, with the men dominant in a breathtaking 9-1 win over New Zealand and the women losing 3-1 to the home side.


With the best-of-three series serving the teams’ only chance of qualification for their respective Junior World Cups next year – the men in the Netherlands and the women in Chile – tonight’s opening matches were vital for each side to gain an early edge.


Australian Junior Men 9 defeated New Zealand Junior Men 1 (Half time 5-1)
Goals: Australia – Russell Ford FG 7m FG 16m FG 44m, Steven Boyce PC 14m FG 18m PC 37m PC 41m, Matthew Naylor FG 16m, Brendon Booth PC 69m; New Zealand – Andy Hayward FG 20m


The Australian Junior Men made amends for the women’s disappointing loss with a dominant performance that ended with goal-scoring phenomenon Steven Boyce slotting four and fellow striker Russell Ford notching a hat trick.


The men were as brilliant as the women were disappointing, plundering a remarkable five goals in an 11-minute stretch during the first half to overwhelm New Zealand with their speed and skill. Naylor’s finish of a clinical team attack and Boyce’s acrobatic finish were the highlights in a half that showcased Australia’s blistering counter attack.


“I thought we played some outstanding hockey, but it wasn’t easy. We defended well early and that gave us some strength to go forward. When we did, I thought we used the ball very well and finished very well. We scored a couple of outstanding goals,” Australian coach Colin Batch said.


“It was a pleasing result for us. We had control of the match at half time and it was good that we also contributed in the second half and played right through.


“We need to produce back-to-back performances. Sometimes with a young group it’s not that easy. New Zealand will be highly motivated to come back from that defeat. We need to do our preparation right and make sure we’re ready for the second game.”


The Australian counter attack was blistering and left the New Zealand defenders in their wake. Mark Paterson started the onslaught after picking the ball up deep in defence and taking off on a 50-metre run down the right channel of the pitch in the seventh minute.


Paterson off-loaded to Boyce near the circle and with a quick transfer of play found Ford for an easy conversion. Boyce then added his name to the scoresheet with a trademark drag flick that left the New Zealand penalty corner defence stranded.


Ford scored his double after receiving the ball in space before maneuvering Kiwi goalkeeper Stephen Graham out of position in the 16th minute before Naylor scored with the next attacking movement.


Naylor’s goal after another sweeping, clinical attack was followed in quick succession by Boyce’s second – an acrobatic midair conversion from close range that put an end to the Australia display scoring and gave New Zealand a chance to re-catch their breath and composure.


The Kiwi’s were able to stem the flow and grabbed a goal after 20 minutes with Andy Hayward on hand to convert.


Australia’s play lost its edge late in the half as they were unable to maintain the incredible standard they set to begin the match and went into half time leading 5-1.


However the second half was barely two minutes old when Boyce resumed the show, ripping the ball high into the net top complete his hat trick and then adding a fourth in the same fashion soon after.


Teams at all levels have been unable to contain Boyce’s penalty corner drag flicks all year and unless New Zealand can discover the key to nullifying Australia’s marksmen, they will have no hope of making the series competitive in the remaining two matches.


Brendon Booth’s goal near full time gave Australia their ninth goal and completed an almost faultless performance.


New Zealand Junior Women 3 defeated Australia Junior Women 2 (Half time 2-1)
Goals: Australia - Susannah Harris FG 2m, Kia Mansell FG 61m; New Zealand - Elizabeth Ryan PC 8m PC 48m, Kayla Sharland PC 16m


In the early match, New Zealand’s penalty corner battery, combined with a pair of Australian defensive errors from the set piece, gave their women’s team a 3-2 win. All of New Zealand’s goals were scored from penalty corners, with Elizabeth Ryan’s strikes in each half complemented by captain Kayla Sharland’s neat finish in the 16th minute.


“They scored two soft goals. Two goals were scored through our players standing on the post which was disappointing. We didn’t really start to play until we were 3-1 down. That was the most disappointing thing about today’s match,” Australian coach Mark Hager said.


Australia must now win both of their remaining matches to qualify for next year’s Junior World Cup in Chile or miss the tournament.


Australia began the match in ominous form and when Susie Harris was given too much space in just the second minute, they led before the New Zealand defence was able to settle.


Another chance soon after could have given Australia an early two-goal buffer, but New Zealand regained their composure and slowly worked their way into the match.


Six minutes later New Zealand was level, with Ryan blasting through to level the scores before the Kiwis took the lead midway through the half.


Ryan’s shot from another penalty corner was stopped and cleared but only to a New Zealand stick before being transferred to Sharland in space on the left of the circle. The Black Sticks senior representative made no mistake with her shot, giving the home team a 2-1 lead.


New Zealand made most of the play for the remainder of the half, forcing a number of desperate saves from Australian goalkeeper Rachel Lynch from penalty corners and field play.


The Kiwis looked sharper and were able to run freely through the midfield which forced Australia deep defence to make covering tackles.


After leading 2-1 at half time, Ryan’s second goal gave New Zealand a healthy lead and Australia pressed until Kia Mansell grabbed a goal with nine minutes remaining. Australia had two clear chances as full time approached, but the shots weren’t taken with the required force to pierce the New Zealand defence.


“We need to ensure our penalty corner defence is of a high quality in the next two matches as well as our work in the attacking circle. I thought we had as many opportunities as they did, but they put theirs in and we didn’t,” Hager said.


“I thought all the players were below their best and there wasn’t anyone who was good for the whole match.”


The next matches in the series are on Thursday.

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