MANCHESTER, July 27: Australia’s men’s hockey team began the defence of their Commonwealth Games title by coming from behind to rout New Zealand 6-1 here on Saturday.
Veteran strikers Craig Victory and Troy Elder scored two goals each for the Kookaburras, who finished second behind Germany at the World Cup in Malaysia in March.
It was New Zealand who dominated the start and took the lead in the 20th minute when Hayden Shaw scooped in a penalty corner past rookie Aussie goalkeeper Mark Hickman.
Stung by the early reverse, Australia hit back through Matt Smith a minute later and scored again through Victory to take a 2-1 lead at half-time.
Australia showed why they are clear favourites to retain the title when they crushed the Kiwis in the second half despite losing the services of their inspirational captain Paul Gaudoin through a hip injury.
Gaudoin limped off early into the second session and then watched from the sidelines as his team-mates went on a scoring spree.
Elder provided the momentum with two goals in the 47th and 59 minutes, before Victory pushed in a pass from Ben Taylor for his second goal.
Brent Livermore completed the impressive tally with a penalty stroke five minutes before the end.
“We had a tentative start, but I was very pleased the way we played in the second half,” said Australian coach Barry Dancer.
“I don’t think we handled the Kiwis well in the opening few minutes. It may be because the lads did not adjust quickly enough to the slippery surface.”
Dancer said Gaudoin will be sent to hospital for tests to determine the seriousness of the injury, but hinted he may not start against South Africa on Sunday.
“He’s never had this injury before, its a strain in the hips, so we are not sure how serious it is. The tests tonight will tell us,” he said.
Kiwi coach Kevin Towns said his team paid the penalty for allowing Australia to settle down after the tentative start.
“We took the lead and appeared to have the upper hand, but they just kept coming at us,” he said.
New Zealand play lowly Barbados in their next game on Sunday.
SOUTH AFRICA ON RAMPAGE
South Africa thrashed Barbados 10-1, then found themselves jeered off the field for giving their unfancied rivals a hard time.
Greg Nicol netted a hat-trick and Mike Cullen scored twice as the South Africans ran circles around the hapless Barbadian defence in a pool A match.
The scoreline fell just short of the 11-0 rout handed out to Malaysia by the South African women on Friday.
South Africa led 6-0 at half-time, four of those goals coming in the first 12 minutes of play.
As South Africa began their goal spree, many among the 2,500 spectators at the Belle Vue complex jeered any further attacking moves while cheering every time a Barbadian got possession of the ball.
The crowd erupted when Barbados, trailing 7-0, finally scored in the 41st minute - a penalty corner by Mark Murray which deflected off a defender’s stick into the goal.
The South Africans played down the unusual response from the stands, saying the crowds often supported the underdogs.
Barbados qualified for their first major international meet by virtue of being the Caribbean champions.
The move to grant one spot to each of the Commonwealth Games regions has generated controversy after former world champions India and growing power Malaysia were kept out of the competition.
Canada qualified for both the men’s and women events because it is the only country from the Americas in the Commonwealth.
Before the competition started on Friday, some Indian fans demanded a refund on their tickets, saying they were deprived of watching their team play against arch-rivals Pakistan.
India were forced to stay at home as higher-ranked Pakistan took the lone qualifying spot from Asia.
Australian coach Barry Dancer joined the growing chorus against the qualifying norms, saying the best teams should take part in the Games.
“I am not favouring any team, but the competition is always better when the best teams are playing,” Dancer said.—AFP
Australia 6 New Zealand 1
South Africa 10 Barbados 1
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