Kookaburras (5) Crush India (2)
Kookaburras 5 India 2 (3-1 half time)
Goals – Aus De Young 2m FG, Aus Turner 10m PC, Aus Abbott 26m FG, Ind Pillay 35m FG, Aus Doerner 42m PC, Aus Turner 43m FG, Ind R. Singh 53m FG
Match Highlights
It was a case of 16 versus 19,000 when the Kookaburras took on India in front of their home crowd in New Delhi at the 2010 World Cup, with the Kookaburras rising to the occasion to win 5-2.
The win keeps the Kookaburras well in truly in the hunt for a semi finals berth, moving them to second place in their pool after Spain suffered a surprise 2-1 loss to Pakistan in the earlier match. Australia’s scoring difficulties from their opening game against England, in which they failed to convert numerous shots on goal, was a distant memory after the Kookaburras opened their scoring account only two minutes into the match.
Veteran defender Liam De Young made it look easy after rebounding his own ball after his first attempt on goal hit the cross bar, putting away the goal to give the Kookaburras a 1-0 lead.
The goal did little to quiet the deafening Indian crowd, however the Kookaburras were given even more breathing space when Glenn Turner scored his first goal of the tournament following a deflection on the goal line from a penalty corner taken by Luke Doerner.
India refused to be intimidated by the scoreboard, continually attacking their goal in a bid to work themselves back into the game.
Australian goalkeeper Nathan Burgers was up to the task, making several good saves while Liam De Young and Eddie Ockenden emerged as key play makers for the Kookaburras at the other end of the pitch.
India continued to push for their opening goal, putting the Kookaburras defence under huge pressure. This allowed for youngsters such as Graeme Begbie, Matthew Butturini and Simon Orchard to show maturity beyond their years, while full back Luke Doerner was also solid on the last line of defence.
After taking India’s attack the Kookaburras were keen to further extend their lead, with veteran Grant Schubert producing a great tackle outside the circle controlling the ball and finding Rob Hammond in the circle who in turn found Des Abbott on the goal line to score Australia’s third goal.
Despite Australia’s best efforts eventually India made their way onto the scoreboard, scoring with only 10 seconds remaining in the first half after a long cross found Vikram Pillay unmarked in the circle.
It didn’t take long for the Kookaburras to respond after half time, with Luke Doerner converting his first penalty corner of the tournament to extend the Kookaburras lead to 4-1.
Only minutes later Glenn Turner was given a clear shot at goal after being unmarked in the circle, ultimately ending India’s chances and taking the edge off the vocal crowd.
A goal to India at the 53 minute mark helped make the scoreboard look more respectable, but the damage was already done with the Kookaburras claiming their first victory at the 2010 World Cup.
The Kookaburras will next play South Africa on Thursday 4 March.
