Australia defeats Spain by 3-2 in the FIH Champions Trophy
The Kookaburras made an outstanding start in the Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy, defeating Spain in the opening game of the tournament by 3-2. The game, filled with immense thrill and excitement, was played at the North Harbour Hockey Stadium, in Auckland,
New Zealand.
Jamie Dwyer, four-time FIH Player of the Year award holder, was the real architect of the victory. He marked a couple of notches and helped the Kookaburras in securing the maiden victory in the prestigious tournament.
Dwyer while speaking to the media said that they failed to make an impressive start in the opening game. He observed, “We were very passive, we should have been a lot more aggressive and we allowed their ball carriers too much time and space”.
He further elaborated on the first fixture, saying, “We definitely didn't play to our potential and we're probably lucky to get the result in the end”.
Despite the opening defeat, the Spanish team was not looking down at all. Spanish Hockey Team Trainer, Daniel Martin, stated that the opening defeat will help them in fixing their grey areas.
He anticipated that they were looking for positive results in the upcoming games in the tournament.
The Kookaburras opened the game, attempting to establish their dominance right from the very beginning minute.
With a fast and a furious start, the Aussies received their first short corner in the very first minute. However, they failed to capitalise on it. Chris Ciriello’s drag flick was not powerful enough to surpass the Spanish goalie.
With 10 minutes into the game, Jamie Dwyer drove the ball to the top of the circle, volleying a powerful shot from the close range and putting Australia ahead of Spain by 1-0.
The Spanish team bounced back in the later part of the game, scoring two back to back goals. Jorge Dabanch marked the first goal for Spain in the 25th minute mark, tying the knots at one-all.
Eduard Tubau put Spain ahead of Australia with a classic goal, taking the score to 2-1, at halftime.
The second half belonged to the Kookaburras completely as they acquired a couple of goals while holding the opponents goalless.
Jamie Dwyer and Desmond Abbott scored one goal each, sealing the victory for Australia by 3-2. The Aussies will face Great Britain while Spain will face Pakistan in the next games of the FIH Champions Trophy.
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