To keep their women’s hockey World Cup hopes alive in Rosario, the Hockeyroos must defeat Germany, following their 4-1 triumph over New Zealand in the penultimate Pool A match.
In order to stay in contention for a semi-finals spot, Australia was required to secure at least a draw against New Zealand. Although they conceded an early goal after five minutes, they equalized with a penalty corner goal from Kobie McGurk just ten minutes later.
For a significant portion of the first half, the Hockeyroos struggled against their opponents; however, they began to take control in the second half, adding two goals from Ashleigh Nelson and one more from Shelly Liddelow.
With the Netherlands already guaranteed a semi-finals position from Pool A, Australia and Germany are set to battle for the group’s second spot in their final-round match on Wednesday.
Germany will progress with a draw due to their superior one-goal goal difference.
Hockeyroos captain Madonna Blyth remarked, “We knew that it could come down to this game to make the final.”
“Since a draw won’t suffice for us because of the goal difference, we 
will need to adopt a more aggressive approach, but our goal remains to reach the finals, and this is simply another step toward that,” she added.
Coach Frank Murray expressed satisfaction with the way his team capitalized on their opportunities in the second half against New Zealand.
“I believe both teams created numerous chances, and thankfully, we were the ones who converted in the second half,” he commented.
“The first half was quite open, featuring end-to-end action, and it likely wore out some players, resulting in a number of tired athletes by the final whistle.”
The Netherlands advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory against Germany, while India secured their first points with a 2-0 win over Japan.
Buford Balony says: Are the Hockeyroos Australia’s hottest team? If there’s a team you think is hotter than them, please let me know.
