With two goals in the fourth quarter, Argentina spoiled the homecoming of local stars Eddie Ockenden, Josh Beltz and Jack Welch as the South Americans defeated the Kookaburras 4-2 in a penalty shootout in their FIH Pro League match in Hobart.
The Kookaburras were in control of the first half, with new captain Jeremy Hayward scoring two penalty corner goals with aplomb inside eight minutes.
After coming off the main break with intent, Hayward was denied his hat-trick in the 34th minute before the Kookaburras found themselves trailing.
Men’s IJF Pro League hockey match in Hobart Tasmania between Australian Kookaburra and Argentina. 7pm, February 28, 2023. Photo: Richard Jupe
Argentina fired a warning on Kookaburra goalkeeper Johan Durst’s goal in the 42nd minute when Matias Rey hit the crossbar with a venomous short penalty corner.
The visiting captain got his team back into contention with an unstoppable rebound from set pieces in the 49th minute.
Durst was under siege and made back-to-back important saves to protect the Kookaburras’ lead, only to see Tobias Martins equalize on 54 minutes.
The Kookaburras responded to the challenge late, forcing Argentina to trade a late penalty corner from Hayward before Lachlan Sharp saw his back post effort narrowly slip in death.
In the shootout, it was the Argentines who claimed the bonus point when Agustín Bugallo converted the decisive try to secure the 4-2 shootout win.
“Getting to 2-0 was really positive and we were doing some things right, but to concede a two-goal lead is disappointing,” Beltz said.
“These are quality games and opponents that you get in the Pro League, so we will take any opportunity to play in front of a home crowd. We will recover and look to return tomorrow.”
The Kookaburras return to take on Spain tomorrow at 7pm AEDT.
match details kookaburra 2 (Hayward 15’/23′) Argentinian 2 (King 49′, Martins 34′) Argentina win the penalty shootout 4-2 @ Tasmanian Hockey Center
Kookaburras: 1 Lachlan Sharp 2 Tom Craig 4 Jake Harvie 6 Matthew Dawson 7 Nathan Ephraums 8 Johan Durst (gk) 9 Jacob Anderson 10 Josh Beltz 11 Eddie Ockenden 13 Blake Govers, 14 Dylan Martin, 16 Tim Howard, 17 Aran Zalewski, 19 Craig Marais, 20 Ky Willott, 21 Jack Welch, 32 Jeremy Hayward (c) Unused substitute: 18. Ben Rennie (gk)
