Olympics 2012
Aussies thrash SA men
2012-07-30 13:45
London - A clinical hat-trick by Australian
midfielder Jamie Dwyer helped his team to a 6-0 victory over the South
African men's hockey team in their 2012 Olympic Games pool A opener on
Monday.
Currently ranked number one in the world and being 2008
Beijing Games bronze medalists, Australia showed their class as world
number 12, South Africa, struggled to gain any momentum in the Aussies'
half.
SA started the match well, restricting Australian
possession and held on to the ball for long periods as they looked to
settle into their structure and rhythm.
Australia eventually drew
first blood when Jamie Dwyer converted a penalty stroke past SA
goalkeeper Rassie Pieterse, after an infringement in the area.
Pieterse was called into action from the off, as Australia saw two penalty corners (PC) saved by the defensive unit.
The
South Africans conceded two further PCs as Australia came into the game
and looked to stamp their authority, with Pieterse again saving well to
deny the Kookaburras a second goal.
Australia appeared to have
doubled the lead six minutes from time when they 'scored' from their
fifth PC, but SA skipper Austin Smith called for a video referral which
was upheld after the ball clearly came off a foot on the way into the
net.
Four minutes later, however, the Aussies scored through
Matthew Butturini, after Dwyer ran into the SA area before lofting a
shot towards goal, which Butturini glanced to send the ball home.
After
leading 2-0 at half time, Australia looked content to sit back and let
their opponents do the work while sweeping up any chances SA had to get
back into the game.
SA struggled to break down the Australia
defence and gave away three further PCs midway through the second
period, two of which were converted by Christopher Ciriello in the 44th
minute, and by Dwyer two minutes later to grab his second of the day.
At
4-0 up, the Australians pushed for another score but found it difficult
to score from open play as SA held firm but gave away too many
set-pieces in their area.
Dwyer completed his hat-trick with 12
minutes to play, as he scored a second penalty stroke after Pieterse was
adjudged to have tackled the man and not the ball.
Australia
rounded-off a dominant performance with eight minutes left to play as
Glenn Turner received a well-timed pass from Matthew Gohdes, leaving
Turner with an open net into which he eased home.
SA's next
fixture is against Great Britain on Wednesday, where they will need to
get a result to stand any chance of progressing through to the next
round.
Olympic Games field hockey results on Monday:
Men
South Korea 2 New Zealand 0
Australia 6 South Africa 0
Spain 1 Pakistan 1
Netherlands 3 India 2
Great Britain 4 Argentina 1