Hockeyroos forward Rosie Malone suspects she’s public enemy number one in India right now, after the Hockeyroos penalty shootout win over India in the women’s hockey semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games.
Key points:
- The Hockeyroos beat India 3-0 in a penalty shootout
- Rosie Malone was allowed to retake her shot after the timer failed to start, having originally missed
- Australia will take on England in the final after their shootout victory over New Zealand
Not that it bothers her.
Malone was the first penalty taker in the one on ones, after the teams finished at 1-1 at full time.
She was never in control of her attempt, and for the first time in her international career, she missed.
But there was an unexpected let-off when she was called back to re-take the shot, because the eight second countdown on the scoreboard hadn’t started.
“I was just thanking the universe for a second chance,” Malone said.
“I knew all of India would hate me if I put it in. But I was just trying to think about my team, and that final.
“I just said to myself, if I get a second chance, I’m not missing it.”
Malone’s successful do-over set the tone for the rest of the Australians, as they secured an easy 3-0 shootout win.
And it also characterized the difference between the revitalized 2022 Hockeyroos, and the 2021 outfit that dealt with a host of off-field issues, and lost to India in the Tokyo Olympics quarterfinals.
“We’ve done heaps of work over the last year, following from the Olympics, on just being able to shift our mindset, quickly accept what happened and move on to the next thing,” Malone said.
“I think that was just a great example of how far our group’s come with those things.”
The Hockeyroos’ positive headspace was clear to see before the match.
While waiting for the earlier semi-final to finish, the Australians gathered on the warm-up pitch and had a Bluetooth speaker pumping out tunes, with a few players even belting out Keep Bleeding by Leona Lewis in an impromptu karaoke session.
They remained upbeat in the first quarter when Rebecca Greiner put them ahead, and they had many more chances to push ahead — but India’s defense was impressive.
In the final quarter, India hit back through Vandana Katariya, as the Australians conceded for the first time in the tournament.
But Malone, Kaitlin Nobbs and Amy Lawton got the job done in the shootout.
The Hockeyroos will face England in the gold medal match, after the host nation also triumphed in a shootout, against New Zealand.
“It’s exactly what we came here for and to take on England, at their home Comm Games, with a home crowd,” goalkeeper Jocelyn Bartram said.
“Hockey is not the biggest sport in the world so to be able to play in front of a crowd that’s going to be up and about is going to be an excellent experience in itself.”
Malone is also excited about trying to get back on top of the podium, after a silver medal at Gold Coast 2018.
“I don’t even care if England’s all against us, it’s just so cool to have an atmosphere,” she said.
“And for our team to get the gold, I think it would just really represent how far we’ve come and all the hard work we’ve been doing.”
.
