Tag: semifinal

The Kookaburras are human.

It is not something we have often seen at the Commonwealth Games, where they have won all six gold medals in the competition’s history.

But they almost missed the gold medal match, after an aggressive, inspired, and amped-up England side threatened to pull off an incredible upset.

The Kookaburras sailed through the pool stage, as they so often do, racking up big score lines and making big statements.

It was different against the Englishmen.

They smothered the world’s top-ranked team and stifled their flow.

They walked a fine line, and at times stepped over it too, receiving two yellow cards and a green card during the game.

“The plan was to go out and throw punches back, and we did that. We got them running the other way. I just went at them, it was like a boxing match.”

If it went to a points decision, it might have gone in England’s favour, but the Kookaburras found a way to land the knockout blow, and come back from 2-0 down, to win 3-2.

Kookaburras grind to ‘ugly’ win

The hosts started with intent and looked especially dangerous on the counterattack.

Phil Roper put them ahead in the first quarter, then a penalty stroke in the second quarter saw Wallace give them a 2-0 lead.

“They play a bit different, a bit more of a marking team, so they definitely put us under pressure early,” Kookaburras midfielder Daniel Beale said.

And the comeback arrived, in a slow, measured grind, rather than in a blaze of glory.

“Things don’t go your way, you have to crawl your way out, fight a little bit, you probably need a bit of luck” co-captain Eddie Ockenden said.

“I didn’t question that we would be able to do it. It’s not like we got on a big run, we just had to edge our way through a bit of attrition.”

“They started the game very well, and we were certainly on the backfoot,” Kookaburras coach Colin Batch said.

One of the Kookaburras’ most reliable sources for goals, Blake Govers, again delivered when needed from a penalty corner to make it 2-1 at half-time.

And Jacob Anderson’s tomahawk drew them level, but the winning goal was the most contentious.

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Anderson took a quick free hit to penetrate the circle, and Beale capitalized to score.

It was reviewed to see whether Anderson had stopped the ball dead before taking the hit, and the goal stood.

England raided the Kookaburras in the final minutes, even substituting their goalkeeper for an extra field player to try and force a shootout.

And while overall the Kookaburras weren’t at their best, they still produced what was required when needed.

There were crucial saves from goalkeeper Andrew Charter, Flynn Ogilvy alerted on the post to bat away an attempt off a penalty corner, Jeremy Hayward blocking a shot on goal at the death, and Ockenden an overall calming presence to take the sting out of England’s bite .