Hockey WA's Tokyo Olympics Hockey Hub I Part 2

HUB PART 1 HERE

HUB PART 3 HERE

DAY 9

Wickham WOWs in Kookaburras penalty Quarter-Final win over Dutch

A nail-biter match for the Kookaburras ended with sweet victory, the Australian side cementing its spot in the Semi-Final after a win in penalty shootouts.

It was the redemption story Australia was hoping for, with the Dutch side knocking out the Kookaburras in the Semi-Final at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. 

Perth Thundersticks’ Tom Wickham opened the scoring with a nifty goal, able to sneak one past the keeper at the 13-minute-mark.

The Dutch side responded shortly after half time, through penalty corner powerhouse Mink van der Weerden, leaving scores level at 1-1.

Van der Weerden is at his third games for the side, and has scored two goals in Tokyo this far. 

Just eight minutes later, Wickham scored yet again, adding to his outstanding performance for the Kookaburras in the first of their finals matches.

But the Dutch wouldn’t give the match up that easy, scoring another through Jeroen Hertzberger on a penalty stroke.

Andrew Charters put on an incredible performance in penalty shootouts, keeping a clean sheet and sending the Kookaburras through.

Blake Govers, Flynn Ogilvie and Tim Brand scored for the Aussie side, resulting in a 3-0 win. 

Kookaburras stalwart Aran Zalewski will make his 200^th appearance for the Kookaburras in the semi-final, which will be played on Tuesday, August 3.

For the full scorecard, please click here.

Earlier today...

Watch LIVE on 7Plus as our Kookaburras take on the Netherlands in the semi-final!!

The Aussie boys are looking for redemption against the Dutch, after the side knocked them out of the Quarter-Finals at the Rio 2016 Olympics. 

Day 8

Fitzpatrick Sav-es the day as Hockeyroos makes it five from five!

Savannah Fitzpatrick's goal and assist late in the match against Argentina sees the Hockeyroos claim a 2-0 victory to finish off an unbeaten run in the pool games in Tokyo.

WA's Georgia Wilson made her Olympics debut and featured heavily in the Hockeyroos run and carry going forward.

Our Hockeyroos sang the anthem loud and proud ahead of the match - a fantastic sight seeing our girls carry the pride of the nation in Tokyo!

It was a tight tussle between the two sides early in the match, with both sides applying the pressure but unable to capitalise going forward.

Tension began to build heading into the half, with the top two sides of the pool looking likely to score at any given moment.

In the dying minutes before the half-time buzzer, Savannah Fitzpatrick was afforded an opportunity in front of goal from a scintillating run by Steph Kershaw, but Argentina's Succi makes a fantastic save to deny the score.

WA's Karri Somerville starred in the third term with her defensive efforts, applying tackle after tackle to win the ball for the Hockeyroos.

Three-quater time and it's STILL a deadlock heading into the final term.

An interesting referral from the Argentinians denies the Hockeyroos a clean run going forward.

GOALLLLLL! It's Fitzpatrick who finds the back of the net to snatch the lead and put the Hockeyroos in the box seat.

An amazing effort to steal the ball on the run at the top of the circle sees the Hockeyroos unbeaten run intact!

Make it two! It's Chalker AGAIN - on fire at Tokyo!

Savannah Fitzpatrick is in everything going forward, with a cheeky deflection in front of goal finding Chalker who taps it past the keeper to take the lead to 2-0.

And that's it! The Hockeyroos make it five from five to complete their best ever start to an Olympic Games and show the world that they mean business in Tokyo!

For the full scorecard, click here.

Watch the Kookaburras in their quarter-finals match against the Netherlands tomorrow, Sunday 1 August at 11:00am AWST!

Day 7

WA boys play a big part in Kookaburras draw with Spain.

West Aussie Tom Wickham scored the first goal of the match in the Kookaburras’ 1-1 draw with Spain at Oi Hockey Stadium in wet conditions.

The match was postponed an hour due to thunder, lightning and poor turf conditions proved dangerous for the sides.

Both sides hustled back and forth, with the score line 0-0 at quarter time, until Wickham was able to put the Kookaburras up by scoring a quick-reflexed goal at the 18-minute-mark.

Wickham joined other WA boys Aran Zalewski and Trent Mitton in the green and gold today, with the half-time score of 1-0 being held for almost the remainder of the match.

The Spanish side nearly had an opportunity to score, able to break through the Australian defence and find the back of the net, before the goal was reversed after a referral from the umpires showing an infringement occurred.

Spain scored the equaliser with under a minute left of the match, leaving the Kookaburras very little time to respond, resulting in a draw between the two. 

The Kookaburras have still finished atop Pool A, with a rest day tomorrow to lead them into the Quarter-Final on Sunday. 

For the full scorecard, please click here.

Congratulations to Tim Brand and Josh Beltz on their 50^th appearances for the Kookaburras.

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0930 - KOOKABURRAS MATCH UPDATE

The match between the Kookaburras and Spain will go ahead from 1000hrs AWST on Seven and 7Plus. 

Both sides have commenced warm up and the conditions at Oi Hockey Stadium have improved significantly. 

0900 - BAD WEATHER DELAYS KOOKABURRAS V SPAIN CLASH

The Kookaburras match against Spain has been delayed due to bad weather. 

Thunder and lightning was prominent outside the Oi Hockey Stadium in the match lead up, as well as the pitch conditions being dangerous. 

Stay tuned for an update at 0930hrs AWST. 

Kookaburras set to maintain undefeated run

Stay tuned today for a live blog when the Kookaburras take on Spain at 0900hrs AWST. 

Kookaburras Josh Beltz and Tim Brand will play their 50th matches in the green and gold.

Here's coach Colin Batch this morning on what they'll look to do in today's match.

Day 6

Hockeyroos make history with undefeated run after four

The Hockeyroos have made history, with their best EVER start to an Olympic Games, after an undefeated run across their first four matches.

WA's Karri Somerille once again, along with her defensive unit, held their rivals to a goalless performance, with the New Zealand national side unable to find the back of the net.

The Hockeyroos started the match firing with relentless attacking pressure but were unable to capitalise on their opportunities in the front half.

Mariah Williams and Savannah Fitzpatrick were the key options heading forward, with Williams unable to find space in the circle on mutliple occasions but presenting an option and looking lively.

Both teams entered half-time in search of the opening goal of the match, with the Hockeyroos looking the most likey with the only two penalty corners to their name.

GOOOOAALLLL!!! Chalker's the hero AGAIN, with a nice touch off of a scintillating pass from Savannah Fitzpatrick finding the back of the goal to open the scoring of the match early in the second half.

The Hockeyroos continued to press and earn penalty corner chances - this set play looking the most likely but unfortunately just falling short of scoring.

Steph Kershaw with some brilliant positioning almost gets the goal, but O'Hanlon provides a beautiful save to deny her the chance.

It's still 1-0 to the Hockeyroos heading into the last - a nail-biting finish for fans in the final term!

OUCH! Mariah Williams finds space in the circle and has a crack - thankfully the play continues!

With the Kiwis desperate to snatch the victory in the dying minutes, they pull their keeper to provide an extra option going forward.

And that seals it! The Hockeyroos have put in their BEST EVER effort at an Olympic Games in Tokyo, with the side firing on all cylinders after four wins from four matches.

Full the full scorecard, click here.

The action continues tomorrow, with the Kookaburras facing-off against Spain at 9:00am AWST.