Hockey festival kicks off in Melbourne

The International Festival of Hockey has kicked off in Melbourne with the Kookaburras winning 3-2 and the Hockeyroos losing 1-0 in games against India's teams.

The Kookaburras have beaten India 3-2 while the Hockeyroos lost 1-0 to India's women's team as the International Festival of Hockey kicked off in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The Hockeyroos are taking part in a three-game test against India, and the Kookaburras are engaged in a four-nations competition with India, Malaysia, and New Zealand.

After a fast-paced first quarter in the Kookaburras-India game, India were up for two penalty corners in the second quarter, both saved by Tristan Clemons, before India's Rupinder Pal Singh got a goal on a third penalty chance.

In the 24th minute of play, Australia was up for a penalty corner and after an injection by Daniel Beale, Jeremy Hayward socked the ball into the top right corner of the net to level the score.

Thirty-six minutes in and Hayward put the Kookaburras out in front with his second penalty corner goal.

Trent Mitton further extended the lead by flicking a goal in from a penalty corner deflection at the 43rd minute.

India were pressing in the final quarter and it paid off with Rupinder Pal Singh converting a second penalty corner with just seven minutes left in the game.

Kookaburras interim head coach, Paul Gaudoin said it was pleasing to come out with a win against a very strong team.

"Our penalty corner conversion was excellent, coming from the Olympics where it was poor, so that was fantastic. Our skill level was down a little bit but our heart and desire was there and I think that helped us get over the line."

In the Hockeyroos game India was first on the board after Rani managed to score a penalty corner in the 21st minute.

Australia retained possession for most of the third quarter and almost had a chance to level in the 40th minute after Laura Barden raced to a free ball and passed to Murphy Allendorf in the circle, but the shot went just high of the net.

Ashlee Wells made a fantastic save when India tried to double their lead with two minutes to go in the quarter, and with only a minute to go the Hockeyroos had another chance to fight back with a penalty corner opportunity, but it was a great save by keeper Rajani Etimarpu that saw an end to the set play.

With 17 seconds to go in the third quarter the Hockeyroos had one more chance but just couldn't make the shot.

Hockeyroos interim head coach Jason Duff said the 1-0 loss was "a really disappointing performance" with his side lacking composure and energy and not moving the ball well unlike India.

"They were first to the ball most of the time, and at this level if you let them get first to the ball then they'll beat you."

Also on Wednesday New Zealand and Malaysia tied at 1 all.

On Thursday the Kookaburras play New Zealand and India play Malaysia.


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Source: AAP



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