The Australian women’s and men’s hockey teams have had ideal warm-ups for the Paris Olympics, with the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras both beating Great Britain to finish their FIH Pro League seasons in impressive fashion.
The Hockeyroos defeated their British opponents 3-2 in London on Thursday morning AEST.
The Kookaburras, led by a brilliant display from Tom Craig, scored a crushing 5-1 win.
Hockeyroos coach Katrina Powell said her side’s win was a confidence-boosting victory, given it is their last international match before the Olympics, where they will also face Great Britain in their pool.
Having gone down 3-0 to the Hockeyroos in the opening match, Great Britain came out with a point to prove and scored with a brutal penalty-corner stroke inside the first five minutes.
The Hockeyroos equalised in the second quarter, with player-of-the-match Grace Stewart scoring after a scything run.
They claimed the lead through a penalty corner that saw Tatum Stewart fire an almighty ball towards the left post, where Brooke Peris capitalised.
The Hockeyroos took a 2-1 lead into half-time and they came out after the break ready to seal the victory.
But Tessa Howard levelled the scores for the home side in the 39th minute.
In the fourth quarter, the Hockeyroos defended five penalty corners in five minutes, with Karri Somerville starring in defence.
The Hockeyroos’ persistence paid off as they scored off their one penalty corner in the quarter, with Stewart delivering a rocketing ball down the middle for Rosie Malone to finish off.
Kookaburras blitz the Brits
The Kookaburras played at an electric pace that caught Great Britain on the back foot.
Lachlan Sharp followed a firing run with a bullet pass to Jake Whetton, who opened the scoring for the Kookaburras.
Great Britain answered with a fast team goal, finished off brilliantly by Lee Morton.
The Kookaburras tried to fire back but disallowed goals to Sharp and Tom Craig halted their resurgence.
Right on half-time, a penalty corner led to Jack Welch scoring off a great push-in by captain Aran Zalewski.
Five minutes after the break, Ky Willott continued the Kookaburras’ charge by scoring after another penalty corner.
Welch almost notched a double, but his attempt deflected off Great Britain’s defence, where player-of-the-match Craig was ready to finish off the play.
With a goal and two solid assists, Craig’s final act saw Willott bag a double and a fifth goal to down the hosts.
With season five of the FIH Pro League complete for the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras, both teams will return home to Perth and take a week off before resuming training ahead of the Olympics.
The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras squads to compete at the Paris Olympics will be named on July 1.
AAP
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