France beaten by Kookaburras in Final-Day of INSEP Hockey Challenge: Match Analysis
Jason Wilson scored twice and had an assist, as the Aussies marked a commanding 6-2 victory over the host team of France in the Final-Day of INSEP Hockey Challenge played at the National Institute of Sports (INSEP) in Paris.
In the head of this heavy margin triumph, the Aussies succeeded to eliminate their frustration of their below par the European Tourney. It was though a best show from the Kookaburras, but the similar results could be expected from match against low-profile
France. The French team is currently holding 17th place in the world ranking, which is far away from World Number one Australia.
The Kookaburras, which has completely failed in the European Tourney and lost the games from low-profile Belgium, is passing through a shocking state of mind. The entire situation is quite worrying for Ric Charlesworth – the coach of the Australian Hockey
team. He was the man who brought the team to the peak with his efficient work and discipline.
However, the current win though not much, but will boost the morale of Australian players in the upcoming matches. They are due to play major tournaments ahead of the 2012 London Games including Oceania Cup and the Champions Trophy.
In the final fixture, the Aussies won the game by displaying strong passing and stick-work, what were missing in the previous games. Interestingly, the French squad demonstrated outstanding defensive work in the first quarter of the encounter and denied
all the strikes from the other side. Jason Wilson was the first Australian player received a pass from the mid-field position and with wasting no time chipped it into the backboard. It was the point of the match that increased the courage of Kookaburras’ players
and they sped up their attacks in the later time period.
However, the French team made their defence tight and denied several efforts inside the D-line. Henri Lhomme – the custodian from the home side made some crucial dives to keep Australian score at minimum. In the 31st minute of the match, Chris
Ciriello scored off a short corner and stretched out the lead up to two goals at the half-time.
After conceding two goals, the Aussies succeeded to establish their dominance over the field and started increasing pressure on the visiting team.
The two squads battled in quite a cautious way in the opening ten minutes of the second set of play. However, the Aussies regained their speed and notched another four goals in the 25 minutes of play. Jacob Whetton, Russell Ford, Joel Carroll and Jason Wilson
scored one goal each in the second half and played vital role in the victory. From the host team, Yannick Schambert and Fabien Magner scored off one short corner each but lost the match 6-2. Surely, the victory will serve the Aussies and will assist them in
the upcoming fixtures.
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