Dual redemption! Kookaburras and Hockeyroos down Olympic medallists
Published Fri 07 Feb 2025
The Kookaburras have fired a warning shot in their bid to retain the FIH Pro League title, upsetting the Olympic gold medallists, the Netherlands, 4-2 in Sydney.
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Meeting six months after their devastating quarterfinal exit at the Paris Olympic Games, the Kookaburras were motivated to remedy their head-to-head.
Returning 24 hours after their 1-2 loss to Spain, Australia remained unchanged on the team sheet, including the same eight players who made their debut for Australia yesterday, but they lined up with a new mindset.
"We learned a lot from the game against Spain. They came out firing, and we weren't up to scratch, so we went away, sat down, and we it figured out, and then we came out here and we fought for it and really executed it," Captain Anand Gupte said post-match.
"We were getting the simple basics wrong, we weren't running with our players, and we looked at what we were doing off the ball, and today, the result looked after itself. We're absolutely stoked," Player of the Match Liam Henderson said.
Immediately, Victorian goalkeeper Jed Snowden was put to work, making a miraculous save to ensure the Olympic champions remained off the scoreboard in just his second outing.
The Kookaburras held strong, finding chances before elation came in the second quarter as Jake Harvie nailed a penalty stroke to hand his side a timely lead.
Soon after the halftime break, a nicely timed volley by Davis Atkin ensured the Kookaburras extended their lead to two before Cooper Burns sailed a remarkable shot into the top right of the goal to put Australia ahead by three.
The champions enacted a comeback to claw the score back to 3-2 before NSW hero Ky Willott sealed the 4-2 win with his second goal in as many matches.
The win capping a dream return to the Kookaburras for Anand, who ran out as captain in just his second game back, two years after he amassed eight caps in 2023.
"Getting the call up to captain was a bit of a shock, actually, but it's really nice that Mark and the coaches and the rest of the group have believed in me, and I believe in them, so it goes both ways," Anand said.
"I was thinking about it last night; it felt like a dream, and then I woke up this morning, and it felt like I had just slept, so I'll soak it up and enjoy the rest tomorrow, and hopefully, it sinks in. I loved it," Liam said after just his second match for Australia.
The Hockeyroos continued to put on a clinic for the packed Australian crowd at Sydney Olympic Park, beating the Olympic silver medallists China in a shootout to remedy their quarterfinal exit at the Paris Olympic Games six months ago.
Australia had only won one match against China outright in the last 10 encounters, but they were buoyed by their 4-1 win over Spain just 24 hours earlier, and they were motivated to remain unbeaten in 2025.
Like the Kookaburras, the Hockeyroos took an early lead through a rapid penalty stroke to 2024 FIH Rising Star nominee Claire Colwill.
Immediately in the second quarter, returning star Courtney Schonell doubled the Hockeyroos advantage with another trademark tap to bag her second goal in as many matches.
After the half, the Hockeyroos held a narrow 2-1 lead until China head coach Alyson Annan pulled off a bold tactical move, pulling their goalkeeper with 11 minutes left on the clock.
It paid off, as China levelled the scores off a penalty corner with just a few minutes remaining in the match. Agony followed when Lucy Sharman's last-ditch shot on goal missed by only a few millimetres, sending the game to a shootout.
Stepping into goal in just her second FIH Pro League shootout ever, WA's Aleisha Power kept it simple.
"I didn't try to overcomplicate it. I thought to myself, 'See the ball, stop the ball.' As my mum would say!" Aleisha laughed.
And she did. Saving four of China's five attempts in a shootout that saw Grace Young and Courtney Schonell beat China's goalkeeper Li Xinhuan.
"Shootouts are stressful! I won't lie, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but they're also really rewarding and a great way to practice your one-on-ones," Aleisha added.
"I had a lot of fun, and we got the extra points, so we'll certainly take that, and especially when it comes to China, they've had a pretty good scorecard over us the last wee while.
"I'm really proud of the girls, it's pretty rare to do what we just did with a new group."
The Hockeyroos and the Kookaburras have a rest day on Friday before they play Spain in an action-packed double header on Saturday evening.
The Hockeyroos will be looking to remain unbeaten, while the Kookaburras will be looking to amend their narrow loss to Spain first up.
