by Hockey Supporter
21. June 2009 02:18
On the last day of the Standard Chartered Bank FIH Junior Men's World Cup here in Johor Bahru, Australia defeated New Zealand to claim the bronze medal.
Australia defeat New Zealand 4:1 (3:0)
In an exciting match between Oceanian rivals Australia and New Zealand, Australia finished a step ahead today, downing the Blacksticks 4:1 despite playing a significant part of the second half one man, and for five minutes even two men, down.
Australia started off the vastly more dangerous team, pushing play back into the Kiwi half of the field for long stretches of time in the first half, and creating a number of good opportunities even before the Bates twins went on a scoring spree, shooting Australia to a 3:0 advantage at halftime.
Timothy Bates started the scoring with a lovely goal from open play in the 14th minute, while brother Michael sank a penalty corner to double the score 13 minutes later. Timothy then piled on another field goal in the 27th minute to give Australia a near insurmountable lead while the New Zealanders seemed to be running on empty, perpetually chasing their opponents.
In the second half, the Junior Blacksticks finally brought a bit more to the game, and Joseph Bartholomew got them on the scoreboard with a penalty corner conversion, but the New Zealanders looked too tired to really break through.
As the game noticeably heated up, Tristan White collected a yellow card that turned into a red after protesting, and New Zealand had the advantage in numbers, an advantage that doubled when Matt Ghodes picked up a yellow card five minutes later, and suddenly it was 11 on 9.
Despite the superiority in numbers, the Kiwis couldn't reduce the Aussie lead however, and weren't even able to create much danger except for one Simon Child solo run that saw his shot go wide. Matt Ghodes returned to make it ten Australians on the field facing eleven Newzealanders, and to add insult to injury, Adrian Lockley scored a fourth goal for Australia, lobbing a ball into the net in a crowded circle.
Australia thus claim the bronze medal, while New Zealand finish fourth at the 2009 Standard Chartered Bank FIH Junior Men's World Cup.
Australia - New Zealand 4:1 (3:0)
AUS - Timothy BATES FG 14m
AUS - Michael BATES PC 24m
AUS - Timothy BATES FG 27m
NZL - Joseph BARTHOLOMEW PC 47m
AUS - Adrian LOCKLEY FG 69m
(source: worldhockey.org)
