Kookaburras hit form with victory over Great Britain
Great Britain 1-4 Australia

World number 1 ranked Australia were back to their brilliant best in the first match of Day 2 here at the Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Great Britain. Goals from Matthew Butturini, Matt Gohdes, Jamie Dwyer and Luke Doerner gave the Kookaburras a win that sees them stay top of Pool A.

Australia were very much in charge for long periods of a physical first half, with Great Britain being forced onto the back foot by the high pressing Kookaburras. The world number one tam had clearly come out with the intention of putting Saturday’s lacklustre victory over Spain well and truly behind them, and they were rewarded for their endeavour six minutes into the game when Matthew Butturini established a 1-0 lead. A superb, defence splitting pass from Fergus Kavanagh found the unmarked Butturini who managed to beat Great Britain keeper James Fair at his near post.

Great Britain had a great chance to pull themselves level midway through the half when evergreen attacker Mark Pearn worked his way into the Australian circle and won a penalty corner. However, the chance went begging when first Mark Gleghorne and then James Tindall failed to find a way past Kookaburras keeper George Bazeley.

The second Australian goal arrived in the 22^nd minute following another spell of intense pressure on the Great Britain goal. Matt Gohdes was the scorer, drilling a low effort into the bottom left corner that gave Fair absolutely no chance of saving. The Kookaburras could easily have scored further goals in the dying stages of the half, with Jamie Dwyer and Eddie Ockenden both going close.

The second half was far more evenly contested, but it was the Aussies who created the clearest goal scoring opportunities in the early stages of the period and would surely have been further ahead were it not for some heroics from the outstanding James Fair.

With fifteen mintues to go, Great Britain pulled themselves back into the game Simon Mantell picked up the ball on the left before beating Australia defender Matthew Swann and firing home.  However, it took Australia just two minutes to find a reply, with a diving Jamie Dwyer netting his third goal of the tournament from close range. Dwyer’s strike certainly knocked the wind out of the British sails, and the impressive Australians took control of the game once more. The result was put beyond doubt when Luke Doerner sent a penalty corner drag-flick into the goal with just two minutes of the match remaining.

The performance showed that Australia – winners of the last three FIH Champions Trophy tournaments – are very much firing on all cylinders once again, which could be ominous for the rest of the teams here in Auckland. 

Great Britain - Australia 1-4 – Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy Men 2011

> Australia are 100% sure of qualifying for the next round if Pakistan do not beat Spain.
> Australia held on to their unbeaten status against GB in CT competition: 11 wins - 5 draws.
> The Kookaburras converted 1 of 4 PCs awarded in this match. GB 0 for 2.
> Australia are now on 2 for 9 in terms of penalty corners converted at Auckland 2011
> GB are now on 1 for 8 PCs at Auckland 2011.
> Matthew Butturini’s opening goal marked the 1500th field goal in Champions Trophy history. The total number of goals scored in CT competition after this match is 2607, 1503 of which are field goals.
> Butturini's only previous goal at a world level event came in last year's World Cup in Australia's 12-0 win over South Africa.
> Jamie Dwyer (AUS) and Simon Mantell (GBR) have now scored in each of the first two matches for their teams.
> Matt Gohdes scored his first CT goal in only his second CT match. At age 21 Gohdes is the youngest player on the Kookaburra squad.
> Gohdes became also the youngest CT goalscorer since Matthew Swann (21) at Monchengladbach 2010.
> Luke Doerner also scored PC goals in both matches against England at last year's CT. Doerner is now on 21 CT goals, all from penalty corners.
> Desmond Abbott’s 4-match scoring streak in CT competition came to an end.

Great Britain - Australia (5 Dec 2011, 10:05) – Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy Men 2011

Head-to-heads
> Australia are unbeaten in 15 Champions Trophy matches against Great Britain winning 10 and drawing five.
> Australia’s biggest CT victory over GB came in 1990 (4-0).
> Their last CT encounter dates back to 2007, when Eddie Ockenden handed Australia a 1-0 victory.
> Earlier this year, in May 2011, Australia beat GB 2-1 at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, through PC goals by Chris Ciriello, Brent Dancer (AUS) and Richard Mantell (GBR).
> In last year’s Champions Trophy final Australia beat England 4-0 to claim their third successive Champions Trophy.

Great Britain Facts

> On Day 1, GB came back from 1-0 down to beat Pakistan 2-1 through goals by Mark Pearn and Simon Mantell.
> GB converted 1 of 6 penalty corners awarded in their first match at Auckland 2011 (16%).
> Only Germany were awarded more penalty corners on Day 1 (0 for 7).
> Great Britain participate for the 15th time and for the first time since 2007, when they finished sixth.
> The team aims to build on the success of the England team that finished second at the 2010 Champions Trophy. That result was the best finish for an English or British team at the Champions Trophy since 1985 when Great Britain finished second.
> Great Britain are the oldest team present at Auckland 2011 - 28 years on average.

Australia Facts

> Australia participate for a record 32nd time in a Champions Trophy tournament. They only missed out on the 2004 event.
> Australia are ranked 1st in the world. They are the reigning Champions Trophy and World champions.
> The Kookaburras aim to become the first team to win four successive Champions Trophy titles. > The Kookaburras have won each of the last three CT editions and have collected 11 CT titles in total.
> Jamie Dwyer (2 goals) is the only player to have scored more than once so far this tournament.
> Desmond Abbott is on a 4-match scoring streak in CT competition.
> The last player to score in more consecutive CT matches for the Kookaburras was Luke Doerner (2009-2010).