Australia 2 Korea 1
Goals: AUS - Donna Lee Patrick 22m FG, Nikki Hudson 55m PC; Korea - 28m Jung Hee Kim.

Hockey Australia: The new-look Hockeyroos, fielding a side with four players 20 or under, managed to hold off a powerful Korean unit, winning 2-1 in an exciting battle at the State Hockey Centre in Brisbane.

Both sides created multiple opportunities but it was the Australians who came out on top, thanks to some great defensive efforts by Rachel Imison and Angie Skirving.

With Imison blocking everything that came her way and Skirving intercepting and stealing numerous Korean charges, the Hockeyroos were able to counter attack and move the ball swiftly forward where Donna Lee Patrick and hometown hero, Nikki Hudson, continually peppered the goals.

In the 22nd minute, Patrick was able to flick one home after being fed the ball close to goal by Kobie McGurk. It was nearly two goals in two minutes when a penalty corner attempt from Angie Skirving flew past the Korean keeper but was disallowed.

Both teams continued to push forward but the defences stayed strong. The Koreans though, managed to get one past Imison in the 28th minute when Jung Hee Kim pushed it past the diving Hockeyroo keeper.

It could very easily have been 2-1 soon after when a Korean attack was thwarted by Imison who blocked several close-in shots at goal, before managing to clear the ball and take the game into half time at 1-1.

The game continued where it left off after half time with both defences dominating play until Nikki Hudson, with the crowd behind her, converted a penalty at 55 minutes to give the Hockeyroos a 2-1 win.

Hockeyroos' coach, Frank Murray, was pleased with the effort but recognised that there was still a lot of work to be done.

"I'm always happy to win but we're still not getting control in the midfield. I thought that the last 15 minutes we were on top. Up until then we weren't because we didn't control the midfield," he said.

Murray was happy with the efforts of many of his new Hockeyroos, including McGurk, Hollywood, Blyth and Phipps, and the energy and enthusiasm they brought to the team. However, he also praised the efforts of the experienced Hudson and Skirving.

"Skirving was excellent down back and Nikki's experience and strength was great. What these young girls need to do is to watch and learn from them."