Aust women beat Japan at hockey World Cup

The Hockeyroos have recovered to beat Japan 3-2 at the World Cup in the Netherlands to make it two wins from as many games for Australia's women.

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Australia's women made it two wins out of two at the hockey World Cup in The Hague on Monday with a 3-2 defeat of Japan.

The Hockeyroos had more pressure throughout the game, taking 10 shots to their opponent's three, but fell behind in the 20th minute when Yurl Nagal finished a quick break.

Anna Flanagan swept home a penalty corner to level after 35 minutes and, in a powerful start to the second half, Australia took control.

Emily Smith turned home a cross and Flanagan's second, from another penalty corner, put the Hockeyroos 3-1 up after 45 minutes.

Shlho Sakal pulled one back just before the hour but Japan slipped to a second successive defeat in pool A.

The match was Ashleigh Nelson's 150th for Australia and Kirstin Dwyer's 50th.

Despite needing to come from behind in the first half, Hockeyroos coach Adam Commens declared it a really solid performance for the team, still without injured skipper Madonna Blyth.

"I think it was a satisfying performance from us to go 1-0 down and then to come back and persevere with the game plan that we had.

"We were executing it well and creating a lot of chances. Statistically, you can see that we created a lot of goal-scoring opportunities and we didn't concede many.

"We did well and we were unlucky probably not to get a fourth (goal) so I was really pleased with the way that we stuck to our game plan. We got in a position to win the match.

"It's a little disappointing that they were able to score to make it 3-2 - it causes a bit of stress for the coach - but ultimately ... an improvement on the first match."

On the fitness of captain Blyth, Commens said she had a calf injury but it was a small strain.

"She will run today and do some training in the coming days and, hopefully, be ready for the match against Belgium in three days. We envisage that she will be alright."

The Hockeyroos' third pool fixture (against Belgium) is on Thursday (6.30pm AEST), followed by group games against the Netherlands (June 7) and New Zealand (June 9).

South Korea's women caused an upset by winning 1-0 against New Zealand thanks to Kim Darae scoring with a stunning deflection that found the net via both bar and post in the 30th minute.

The Black Sticks almost made the Koreans pay for not increasing their lead only for keeper Jang Soo Ji to deny Anita Punt on the backhand.

Punt then failed to convert a short corner in the closing stages and South Korea claimed the points.


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Source: AAP


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