Well the Kookaburras got off to the best possible start last night, by scoring in the first minute of the game but were eventually overrun by a rampant Spanish team.
The Spaniards put the Kookas defence and midfield under huge pressure for the entire game and it was the usual suspects of Pol Amat, Eddie Tubau and Santi Freixa up front for the Spanish Inquisition that caused the Aussie defence all sorts of problems throughout the game.
The Aussies just couldn’t quite seem to break the pressure of the Spanish through the middle of the park and only created 1 penalty corner to Spain’s 7.
The Hockey Show’s correspondent on the spot David Wansbrough (who admittedly is moonlighting as a commentator on Channel 7 after his Beijing Hockey Show committments are over each day) agreed that the Spanish were the better team on the night and deserved to win.
And now the Kooka’s have to front up to play the Dutch for the bronze medal after they lost in penalty strokes to Germany.
Let’s hope they can do it!
So….what does everyone think of the teams peformance over the tournament? Who played well? Who didn’t? Who’s going to retire now? What about Barry Dancer?
Here are the Hockey Show’s thoughts:
1. Ockenden has been an absolute revelation up front. He is going to be a gun.
2. The Hockey Show’s commentary is much better than that of either Wansbrough or Christison
3. Fantastic to see The Hockey Show’s own Andrew Smith get a run.
4. Gymp should have been in the team ahead of Lambert (based on sweeping generalisations from the comfort of the couch watching the games on Channel 7′s rubbish coverage and without having seen any training or how Gymp was going, but again, he’s The Hockey Show’s own, so he should have been in the team)
5. Retirements – Wells, George, Lambert, Brooks
6. Bronze medallists – Australia
Related posts:
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:17 pm
* Dancer is not re-applying
* Eglington was retiring as well, not sure now
* Mowlam is retiring
* Kavanagh future capatin
*Abbott needs to change states so he gets more practice getting ball in tight compressed games, no one falls away aginst NT.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
add hammond to retirement list?
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 am
You Vics are so biased – never did like you!
August 24th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
this website and the mojority of comments are made by people that talk crap and bag players and coaches because they are not good enough to play near the top level…
well done aussies…proud to medal again
August 25th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
we are not biased at all, we just hate you cause you get a yellow singlet in a paper bag when you get your maroon one.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Actually Vegemite Kid the ‘majority’ of people that post here are well educated hockey officianados with more hockey nouse than you think. Just because the ‘majority’ of us have not played at international level does not mean we can’t comment on the games played. We’re all proud of the boys but feedback will always be given no matter what the result.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Qld lad, dont generalise about everyone from a State just because of a few. That’s what they do in South Australia…
August 26th, 2008 at 10:27 am
typical victorian turkey…gee you did well at 21′s level
August 26th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Not as bad as you duds. You stacked you AHL team with non South Australians (actually a good idea considering how “good” your locals are) and still didnt make finals.
Last 6 U21s – Vic won 3 runner up 2, I missed finals. SA – no GF appearances, might have come 4th once in that time but i dont think so.
Summary – you are lucky there is no relegation in National Championships.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Far out south aussie boy, you’ve heard of jokes in Adelaide haven’t you? Or are you all too busy stashing corpses?
August 27th, 2008 at 8:27 am
I find Victorians are so full of themselves. You may have won a few times in the past but get used to the slide down because you are on the decline.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am
until the next championship its all talk guru, so until the next one is played all we can debate is the past stats. so good luck in the next one, looks like you have a few very good youngsters coming through.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I do not take insult from you south australian boy. I am just happy that they finally have the internet in South Australia. Maybe now you can go to webjet.com book a flight, get out of South Australia and live happily ever after. It must be a dream come true.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
WA GURU, you call yourself a “guru” and then say that other people are full of themselves. Base the AIS somewhere else and we’ll see how WA goes…
August 28th, 2008 at 9:16 am
check out the title of the article people…who gives a rat’s toss bag (ask Malcolm Blight what this is!) about state U21 titles, especially when we’re talking about the Kookaburras playing at the Olympics!