World champions Australia rode on a hat trick by veteran fullback Luke Doerner to crush Scotland 9-0 in their men’s field hockey opening Pool A match of the Commonwealth Games yesterday.
Doerner, returning to the squad after missing Australia’s Champions Trophy triumph in Germany last month, slotted in the goals in the 14th, 38th and 60th minutes to give the defending champions a rousing start to the tournament.
The world No. 1 side were hardly tested by the 23rd-ranked Scots in the lopsided encounter played in blistering heat at Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
Chris Cirilello picked a brace, Rob Hammond underlined his class with a stunning reverse flick and Trent Mitton scored a field goal to give the Aussies a 5-0 lead at halftime.
The second half followed a similar pattern with the Kookaburras denying the Scots any chance of opening their account. Simon Orchard and Des Abbott added to the two goals scored by Doerner after the break.
It was at this very venue that the Aussies, coached by the legendary Ric Charlesworth, won the World Cup after 24 years by beating defending champions Germany 2-1 in the final.
The Aussies also enjoy an enviable record in the Commonwealth Games, having won the gold in all the three editions since the sport was introduced in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
Australian captain Jamie Dwyer said his team was looking forward to going home with the fourth gold medal on the trot.
“Every tournament that you go in, you want to win,” he said. “We have had a great 22 months and we want to finish off on a good note. We will take it game by game and hopefully, we will go home with the gold this time as well.”
Charlesworth said he was disappointed to see empty stands.
“It is disappointing not to see the crowds as there are some quality teams out here. But we expect a good crowd when we take on India tomorrow [Thursday],” Charlesworth said.
Scotland’s Alan Forsyth hoped his team would bounce back despite suffering their second defeat in as many days.
“We are obviously disappointed,” he said. “But Australia are the No. 1 team. We have to give them credit for the way they played ... We made the mistake of giving them easy opportunities to score.”
? TEAMS WILT IN HEAT
AFP, NEW DELHI
England women’s hockey coach Danny Kerry slammed Commonwealth Games organizers yesterday after his team were forced to play in baking and “dangerous” 40°C temperatures.
“To play elite sport in 40°C and 80 percent humidity is inappropriate and dangerous,” he told the BBC after his team’s 4-1 win over Canada at the Major Dhyan Chand stadium. “The organizers are in ivory towers, they don’t consult us. We made representations before the Games and just hit brick walls.”
England captain Kate Walsh agreed with her coach.
“Fortunately we’ve got a brilliant strength and conditioning program and I think that has held us in good stead. Playing in 40°C is hard, hard work. You just can’t play for 70 minutes in that heat,” she said.
Walsh’s New Zealand counterpart Kayla Sharland said her team were also finding the heat very hard to cope with.
“I think you have to shift it in this heat because it’s just too hard to run and gun for goals. We have to learn to pass it off. There is no other way,” she said.
“We are drinking a slushy mix, which is designed to cool our core body temperatures. It replaces electrolytes, so we have it just before we go on the field. In fact, we sip it throughout the day,” she said.
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