Kookaburras' Pro League dream dies with England defeat
Australia's hockey men have fallen short in their bid to successfully defend their international hockey Pro League title, a 2-1 defeat to their old rivals England in London finally ending the Kookaburras' terrific unbeaten streak.
The defeat for Tim Brand's side, after a brilliant sequence of six straight wins in Argentina and Europe, finally put paid to their hopes at the Lee Valley Centre with the Netherlands sealing the title that the Aussies had won in 2024.
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It was a frustrating end to their thrilling European push and they only had themselves to blame, Tom Craig having a penalty stroke brilliantly saved by a diving England keeper James Mazarelo and the team managing to convert only one of 16 penalty corners.
While England celebrated their first victory in hockey's 'Ashes' for 11 years, there was frustration for Brand as he reflected: "It's a shame to let that one slip today.
"But we've come away to learn on this tour, and second (place in the league) is still up for grabs. I'm very proud of what we've done so far, it's not over yet.
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"We played well, created a lot of chances, we were physical and we had a lot of energy, but we just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. We'll go away and look at that, it's a young group and we'll take a lot from this game."
Coming off a sensational 4-3 comeback win against the same opposition on Saturday, the Kookaburras had to win and also prevail in their final two league matches against the hosts in Germany next week to snatch the title from the Dutch.
But Brand proved the only Aussie to get on the scoresheet, tapping home following one corner to level the scores after England had taken the lead in the third quarter against the run of play through Jack Waller after the Kookaburras had already squandered 11 short corners and missed the penalty stroke.
Then Waller proved the home hero, scoring a brilliant winner in the fourth quarter to give the hosts their first win after nine straight losses against Australia since 2014.
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"Our playing style at the moment is as good as anyone's, we can match anyone in the world," said Brand. "The game just didn't fall our way today."
Meanwhile, the Hockeyroos delivered a brilliant 4-3 come-from-behind triumph over Germany in Berlin to end their Pro League season on a high.
Just 24 hours after getting hammered 4-0 by the hosts in Berlin, the Aussie women turned the tables emphatically on a sweltering afternoon, overcoming a 3-1 halftime deficit to win thanks to 15-minute burst in the second half.
Goals from Greta Hayes, Courtney Schonell, Grace Stewart and Lexie Pickering earned the famous win in their last match before September's three-match World Cup qualifying showdown against New Zealand in Darwin.
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"What a way to finish this Pro League season! It's been an up-and-down campaign over here in Europe," player of the match Hayes conceded.
The Hockeyroos are in fourth place in the standings with the Netherlands women having long since wrapped up the title.
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