Hero Hockey World League Finals: Great Britain shock world champs Australia 5-2

Great Britain stunned number one side Australia

Great Britain claimed a stunning 5-2 victory over reigning World champions Australia in Pool A, which moved the Brits onto six points at the end of Day 3 at the Hero Hockey World League Final 2015 in Raipur, India.

Henry Weir and Chris Grassick were both on target for GB in the first quarter, before Jeremy Hayward pulled a goal back for the top-ranked Kookaburras two minutes into the second period. However, an Ian Sloan penalty corner restored Great Britain’s two-goal cushion with David Condon pouncing just after half-time to establish a 4-1 advantage against the illustrious Australians.

A brilliant backhand strike from Matt Gohdes early in the second quarter gave the Aussies hope, but a Phil Roper strike sealed an impressive win and put Great Britain clear at the top of Pool A.

“We had to defend well at the end but you are always going to have to do that against Australia”, said Great Britain Head Coach Bobby Crutchley, reflecting on the match. “We don’t just want to be known for one result, we want to keep going. I’ve learned a lot about them tonight that has really impressed me, and I’ll learn more about how they show up for the next game. That is because after a good win it is often the next game that is the biggest challenge.”

“We were off the pace today”, said goalkeeper Andrew Charter, who made his 100th international appearance for the Kookaburras in the match. “We were a bit sluggish and GB came out with a little bit more pep than they have done against us for a while, and they really punished us for it. We’ll go back and learn a few things from this and look towards the next matches.”

Hero Man of the Match: Dan Fox (GBR)