Oceania Hockey has been flexing its muscles at the 20th Commonwealth Games’ hockey competitions in Glasgow, Scotland, with all four of its representatives powering through to the semi-final stages of the tournament in stunning fashion.
At the end of Competition Day 6, Australia and New Zealand sat comfortably at the top of pools in both the men’s and women’s tournaments, with all four sides having 100 percent winning records.
Australia’s Kookaburras have been in scintillating form in Pool A of the men’s competition, with the reigning World Champions cruising to big wins against Wales (6-1) and South Africa (7-0) before a double strike from Chris Ciriello earned a 4-2 triumph against India to effectively win the pool with a game to spare. India and South Africa both have a chance to reach the semi-finals and will face each other in a winner-takes-all encounter on Thursday.
In Pool B, New Zealand and England both came into Tuesday’s meeting with two wins under their respective belts, but it was the Black Sticks who emerged 2-1 winners thanks to a late winner from Simon Child, who volleyed home a penalty corner rebound two minutes from time. The defeat is bad news for England, who now face the very realistic possibility of a meeting with the mighty Kookaburras in the semi-finals.
In the women’s competition, three wins from three Pool A matches proved to be enough for New Zealand to reach the final four. The Black Sticks just need a draw in Wednesday’s match with Canada to win the Pool and ensure that they avoid a semi-final meeting against World Cup Silver medalists and Pool B winners Australia. The Kiwis were victorious over Trinidad & Tobago (14-0) and India (3-0) before battling to a 2-1 win over the rapidly improving South Africa thanks to goals from Anita Punt (pictured) and Krystal Forgesson. As in the men’s competition, South Africa will face India in their final Pool A match, with the winner joining New Zealand in the semis.
Pool B has been utterly dominated by Australia, who have netted 25 goals and conceded none on their way to four wins from four against Malaysia (4-0), Wales (9-0), Scotland (9-0) and England (3-0). Jodie Kenny has netted nine of those 25 strikes, ensuring that she sits at the top of the scoring charts and that the Hockeyroos remain massive favourites to win the Gold in Glasgow. England are currently second in the pool with six points, ahead of host nation Scotland on goal difference. The two sides go head-to-head on Wednesday with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs.
We will be posting a recap of the tournament early next week, but in the mean time you can keep up to speed on all of the action from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on the official event website - www.glasgow2014.com, with hockey specific info available on www.glasgow2014.com/games/sports/hockey.
Remember, many of your favourite players are posting regular updates and photos on social media channels such as Twitter and Instagram. Hockeyroos stars Jayde Taylor and Brooke Peris recently became internet sensations after their selfie was photo-bombed by Queen Elizabeth II, with their now famous photo being retweeted over 15,000 times. So what are you waiting for? Get searching and start following!
