Spain v. Australia 0-5 (half-time 0-3)

Australia continues to live up to its billing as the big favorite of the men’s tournament. The current World #1 had no problems dispatching Spain today in a 5-0 decision.

Russell Ford opened the scoring 10 minutes into action when he scooped up his own rebound and popped the ball past Spanish goalkeeper Francisco Cortes. Less than five minutes later Matthew Butturini doubled the lead when Ford threaded a pass through the Spanish defense for the easy marker.

The news got worse for Spain when Pol Amat was led off the field mid-half with an apparent shoulder injury after falling over an Australian player. Spain was already without the services of Santiago Freixa, who is out for the rest of the tournament with a broken arm.  

Australia continued to show no weakness in the second half as Glenn Turner promptly put in the 4-0 goal less than five minutes after the break to make it 4-0. In the final two minutes captain Edward Ockenden put the icing on the cake with the 5-0, top shelf, penalty corner goal. There was little hope for the Spaniards in the second half with both the big deficit and an Australian team that was firing on all pistons. That Spain limited Australia to just two goals in the second half was a moral victory as the damage could have been much worse.

Australia now has an impressive 11 goals in its first two outings and sits atop the Group A standings with six points. The outlook is not as bright for Spain, which has one point in its first two games and may now be without the service of yet another one of its key players depending on the severity of Amat’s injury.

(Eric Bailey)

Matthew BUTTERINI (AUS)
On his second goal in two games:
"It is something I have been training for. I have not played forward too much over the last few years so, it's something I have been trying to develop. I'm not an out and out striker. I like playing in the midfield more and being creative."

On what Australia need to improve despite winning their first two pool games convincingly:
"Mainly our defensive work needs to improve, but if we keep teams out then going forward things should take care of themselves. There's still improvements there, but it's definitely a dream start."

Francisco CORTES (ESP)
On Pol Amat's injury:
"We did not expect another injury from this game after Santi (FREIXA) (was hurt). We will see what happens with Pol (AMAT). Without them it might get tough for us, but if we get three wins in the next games we can still make the semifinal, and I really think we can do that."

On Australia's attack:
"Sometimes it is very difficult to save, especially when I have one or two players facing just me. The Australians are very fast but to me, it is a game like any other and I have only one thing to focus on - to stop the ball."