Kookaburras clinch 2009 ABN AMRO Hockey Champions Trophy

Australia 5 Germany 3
Goals- AUS Abbott 2 FG, GER Fuchs 14 FG, GER Haner 22 PC, GER Witthaus 26 FG, AUS De Young 37 PC, AUS Doerner 41 PC/50 PC, AUS Kavanagh 67 FG.

By Megan Smith

The Kookaburras clinched the 2009 ABN AMRO Hockey Champions Trophy title in stunning fashion beating Germany 5-3 in front of a packed State Netball Hockey Centre (SNHC) today and are champions for the second year in a row.

For Aussie fans it was a beginning that dreams are made of, with Desmond Abbott bringing the crowd to life in the 2nd minute by scoring the opening goal of the match with clinical accuracy.

Despite the home-crowd advantage, Germany’s youngest player Florian Fuchs preyed on the Australian defence like a seasoned professional and managed to level the match in the 15th minute.

Fuch’s stellar goal ignited a surge of adrenalin in the German side, and a goal to Martin Haner gave them some breathing space against an Australian side that was pressing hard.

Rattled by Germany’s electric speed, the Australian defence let a third German goal from striker Matthias Witthaus slip through the gaps, increasing their lead to 3-1.

The half-time break served the Aussies well and the comeback began with assertiveness as the Kookaburras converted their second goal from the stick of Liam de Young in the 37th minute.

Luke Doerner also stepped up and went on the attack in the 42nd minute, slamming the ball into the back of the net off a penalty corner, giving the crowd hope that victory was possible.

Pin point precision from player of the year Jaime Dwyer gave Australian coach Ric Charlesworth something to smile about as the game turned on its head.
Luke Doerner played unbelievable hockey and in the 50th minute he took advantage of his team’s eighth penalty corner to give the Aussies the lead after trailing at half time.

The Olympic champions were desperate to for a penalty shootout but all was over when the Aussies struck on the counter and Fergus Kavanagh lobbed the keeper to make it 5-3.

Mark Knowles said at the post-match press conference that the team’s morale was still positive at half time.

“There was a belief within the team that if we could get a goal early on that we would be in with a good chance,” he said.

Awards:

Fair play trophy: Netherlands

Goalkeeper: LEE Myung Ho

Top Goalscorer: Grant SCHUBERT and Luke DOERNER

Player of the tournament: Grant SCHUBERT