Kookaburras Lay Ghosts To Rest

The Age

Monday August 16, 2004

Richard Hinds

For a young team trying to create Olympic history, and to prove it is unencumbered by the misfortunes of the past, there could have been no better way for the Australian men's hockey team to start its campaign than with an emphatic victory over New Zealand.

As anyone familiar with the Kookaburras' travails is aware, the Kiwis are the team that upset the world champion Australians 1-0 in the final at Montreal in 1976, a result that has become representative of the team's supposed Olympic hoodoo.

But yesterday, the Kookaburras controlled the match from the outset on their way to an impressive 4-1 win. The star for Australia was striker Jamie Dwyer, who scored a hat-trick on his Olympic debut only one year after a knee injury threatened to end his hopes of playing in Athens.

Dwyer had a total knee reconstruction after going down during last year's Champions Trophy. But although he still has some pain, his skill and lightning reflexes in the circle seemed unaffected.

While Kookaburras coach Barry Dancer was understandably pleased with his team, particularly its defensive pressure, he knows he has a special talent in Dwyer.

"I think Jamie has uncanny skills, can finish goals that are freakish quite often," said Dancer. "His ability in that third of the pitch provides a really strong contribution."

The only time the Kiwis outperformed Australia was in the pre-match haka.

Having dominated the early play, Troy Elder opened the scoring for Australia when he slid home his shot from a short corner.

Dwyer scored his first eight minutes later with a reverse stick shot and effectively ended the contest early in the second half when he knocked in a smart cross from Travis Brooks.

NZ lifted its work-rate slightly after that and Darren Smith scored a consolation goal from a penalty corner with 13 minutes to play. But again, Dwyer was there to snuff out the threat, moving smartly through the circle to complete his hat-trick.

Australia meets Argentina tomorrow and will face tougher opposition after that - its final pool match is against the Netherlands, winner of the past two Olympic gold medals.

For once, it is the women's team that is under pressure at an Olympics. After an upset 2-1 loss to Germany in the first pool match, the Hockeyroos must beat lowly ranked South Africa today to stay in contention for a place in the semi-finals.

Given that the South Africans lost 6-2 to the Netherlands in their first match, it should not be a difficult assignment.

Coach David Bell was disappointed by his team's slow start, with the physical Germans throwing the Hockeyroos off stride. It was the Hockeyroos' first Olympic defeat since Barcelona in 1992, when they were fifth.

© 2004 The Age

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