Bhubaneswar, 9 December 2014: Jeremy Hayward’s pair of goals saw Australia claim third place in Pool A at Pakistan’s expense as they beat the Asian side 3-0 (1-0), gaining their first win of the competition at the third attempt.
Pakistan had the first major opening, Muhammad Arslan Qadir hitting the outside of the goal following a great piece of skill by Muhammad Dilber. But, from there until the big break, Australia pummelled their goal but only came away with a single goal. That came from Jeremy Hayward from a penalty corner rebound in the 23rd minute.
Chris Ciriello saw a drag-flick charged down while Jacob Whetton went particularly close after some great individual skill from the pick of the chances, leaving the minimum in the difference. But they could not build on it further. Simon Orchard was denied by a stunning Imran Butt save and Matt Gohdes could find no way past the defender on the line with the follow-up.
Butt also tipped a drag-flick over the bar to keep Pakistan interested and they started to forge their own chances in the final quarter with growing frequency. They also could not find their scoring sticks and they were chances were all but done and dusted when Hayward flicked home his second with seven minutes left. Whetton completed the result with 90 seconds to go with a simple touch.
Speaking post the match, Pakistan Coach, Sheikh Shahnaz said “The boys did not play well today. We missed opportunities, had they converted the scorecard would have told a different story. But they are improving by the match and meeting any team in the quarter finals will not make much of a difference as all 8 teams are strong and anyone can win on any given day”.
Speaking on the performance today, Jeremy Hayward, Australia said “It was a good match and was good to put away a couple of goals, this was a team effort. We stuck to our game plan and this paid off in the end. The quarter finals will be a tough match, let’s see what’s happened. Today’s win was mentally important, we needed a win to get on the board.
The Hero Men’s Champions Trophy 2014 is getting aired live on Ten Sports.
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