BHUBANESWAR 30-Nov-2018
World No 1 Australia made a winning start to their title defence in the 14th Hockey Men’s World Cup, edging out World No 10 Ireland 2-1, while debutants China (World No 17) claimed a stunning 2-2 draw against England (World Rank 7) in the first two Pool-B matches here at Kalinga Hockey Stadium today.
The Australia versus Ireland match was a fascinating encounter with the Green Machine producing a fine performance against the defending champions. Australia took a 1-0 lead when Blake Govers launched a powerful penalty corner drag-flick beyond Ireland goalkeeper David Harte 11 minutes into the game. But the lead proved to be short-lived. Ireland stunned the Kookaburras in the second period when a high-quality attack was finished beautifully by Shane O’Donoghue, who produced terrific 3D skills to find a way past Aussie shot-stopper Andrew Charter.
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