Hockey World Cup 2018, Australia vs Ireland: 5 Talking Points

Ever since the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2018 has begun at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the edition has grabbed the attention of all the hockey lovers in India as well as the world.

The starting of the event has been in such a way that is quite synonymous with this year's FIFA World Cup, held at Russia.

Like the event in Russia, this World Cup is not a one-sided affair as well. Except for the drubbing that India gave to South Africa, none of the games have ended in a drab affair.

The unpredictability of this Hockey World Cup is something that is not just brilliant, but also eye-catching.

None of the top teams have been able to romp home with easy wins. What started with Belgium narrowly winning over Canada, soon turned into an interesting affair, with even Olympic champions Argentina and giant killers New Zealand struggling against teams like Spain and France.

England, who is considered as a European powerhouse, was also in for a rude awakening when a last minute goal from Du Talake gave China, who just made their World Cup debut with this edition, a historic draw.

However, the mother of all surprises came up in the match between Australia and Ireland. Australia stepped in as the defending champions of this tournament, while Ireland was happy to have made it to the World Cup after a whopping 28 years.

However, the moment the match began, it turned into a nail-biting spectacle, where Australia, who was expected to have it easy against the rookie Ireland, actually struggled to even register a simple win.

Minutes after Blake Govers scored for Australia when Shane o Donoghue broke through the Australian defence and equalized.

This lead to Australia calling back their star goalkeeper, Tyler Lovell on the field. Kept as a reserve, it was Lovell who brought back Australia into the match, and Tim Brand did the rest with the winning goal.

Following are the 5 interesting points about the match:-

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#5 Ranking does not matter

If there is one thing to learn about from this game, it is that first impression is never the last one.

Anyone who even remotely thought that the defending champions would have it easy against a rather lower-ranked Ireland side was left shell-shocked.

There is no doubt about the fact that Australia is one of the finest teams in the history of field hockey.

One of the quickest to adapt and succeed in modern hockey based on astroturf, Australia was riding high on the success of FIH Champions Trophy 2018 and were expected to breeze through against Ireland in the opening match of pool B.

However, the way they were forced to sweat out, in what seemed to be an easy going match for Australia, it is clear that unless Australia pull up their socks well, this is not going to be an easy World Cup for them at all.

#4 Blake Govers opens the score for Australia

It was celebrations galore for the Kookaburras when their star player Blake Govers opened the account for Australia in the 11th minute of the game, earning a crucial lead for the Australian team.

One of the best drag-flickers for Australia after Chris Ciriello called it quits, the youngster did not waste a single moment as he scored the opening goal for Australia.

Even though the score was equalized within minutes, it inspired the Kookaburras to keep the momentum going.

Of all the players, it was only Govers, who clicked and performed to his usual capacity. As the World Cup progresses, so will the responsibilities on the shoulders of this young drag-flicker, who is expected to give Australia the ticket to direct quarterfinals.

#3 Ireland strike back with a vengeance

When Blake Govers opened the goal scoring for Australia, it looked as if Australia would have a breezy match ahead in their encounter against Ireland. The Irish team, however, had other plans for the Kookaburras.

To begin with, they had attacked the Australian goalpost from the word 'Go'. Despite suffering a goal within the first quarter, Ireland struck back in time, when Shane O Donoghue smashed the ball past goalkeeper Andrew Charter into the net.

Australia couldn't believe it, within minutes of their first goal, Ireland had only not struck back, they had also equalized the score.

What followed for the next 21 minutes, including the entire second quarter, was a literal nightmare for the Kookaburras.

Though the Irish were unable to take the lead, they didn't let Australia take back the lead either. A major credit for this goes to David Harte, goalkeeper cum skipper of the team, who has surprised the world before with his antics as well.

#2 Tyler Lovell and Tim Brand come to the Kookaburras' rescue

By the time the first half had got over, Australia looked as if they were in for some really big trouble.

Ireland had just equalized the score, and for the entire second quarter, they did not even let Australia come even an inch near their striking circle.

Sensing the same, Australia had to take some extremely tough decisions, which included removing the present goalkeeper and the much more experienced Andrew Charter off the field, and bring back their star goalkeeper Tyler Lovell on the field again.

Tyler, who was instrumental in Australia's victories in the final two editions of the FIH Champions Trophy, came back to action in the second half, denying Ireland a chance to come back in the match.

Tim Brand ended the dream run of Ireland with a field goal in the 34th minute, and it was due to the heroics of Tyler Lovell that Australia finally managed to prevail.

#1 Tough road ahead for Australia

Despite the win, Australia cannot sit back and relax. Their very next match is against arch-rivals England, who are undoubtedly seething in fury after their humiliating match against China, which ended in a historic draw for the latter.

The way Australia struggled throughout the match, despite the status of Ireland being well known, tells volumes about the unpredictability of turf hockey, where nothing can be predicted until the last second.

To make matters worse, their final match is with China and if they do not act quickly against England, they might face a drubbing against China, given that their coach is the same South Korean Kim Ryul, who propelled his team to a shock silver medal at the Sydney Olympics.

Should that happen, Australia will face the humiliation of being relegated to the crossovers for the first time since 1978, instead of a direct ticket to the knockouts.

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