Australia edge past Spain 2-0, move closer towards semis

Australia continued with their impressive form after the initial hiccup as they beat Olympic silver medalist Spain 2-0 in a crucial Pool B match of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup here on Saturday.

New Delhi: Australia continued with their impressive form after the initial hiccup and inched closer towards a semifinal spot beating Olympic silver medalist Spain 2-0 in a crucial Pool B match of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup here on Saturday.

With this victory, Australia not only pocketed three vital points but also took revenge of their semifinal defeat at the hands of the Spaniards in Beijing Games. Luke Doerner (20th) converted his sixth short corner of the tournament in the 20th minute and then Glenn Turner doubled the lead for the Aussies in the 60th minute. The win almost assured Australia a place in the last-four stage and a draw against Pakistan in their last match on Monday would be more than enough for Ric Charlesworth’s boys to secure their place in the semifinal. Australia is in the most comfortable position in Pool B with a goal average 16 in their favour. Spain, on the other hand, has no option but to win against England in their last match and then wait for the results of other matches of the pool. The Aussies started from where they left against South Africa and got their first scoring opportunity in the sixth minute when Matthew Butturni dodged past several defenders to set up the ball for Grant Scubert, whose subsequent shot from top of the circle was brilliantly saved by Spanish goalkeeper Francisco Cortes. Spain soon responded back with a quick counter-attack, which resulted in their first penalty corner, but Pau Quemads’s drag-flick was saved by Australia custodian Nathan Burgers. World number three Australia first sounded the board when Doerner ably converted a short corner in the 20th minute. Just three minutes from the interval, experienced Eduard Tubau got a golden opportunity to draw parity for Spain but, after outplaying Cortes, his shot from a narrow angle missed the goal by inches. Australia could have been 2-0 up by half time but for a brilliant Cortes, who denied Desmond Abbott in the 34th minute, padding away his spin shot from top of the Dee. Spain also wasted two more penalty corners, one of which came just 51 seconds from the break. Trailing by a goal, Spain took attacking strategy right from the start of the second half, while Australia waited for some quick breakaways. Spain mounted quite a few attacks on the Australian goal in the second but every time the Aussie defence stood tall to deny them success. Spain’s day can be summed up from the fact that they earned as many as seven short corners in the 70 minutes but failed to convert a single. Just 10 minutes from the hooter, Australia drove the final nail in Spain’s coffin when Turner found the back of the Spanish goal from a Robert Hammond’s lay-off. PTI