APAC 후기(호주전)

[KFF 김이사]

Day 3 - Korea vs Australia B

International - International Friendly

Period 1
A fantastic start to the 1st game of the day when the Koreans placed a goal into the Australian net just 50 seconds into the 1st period! The speed at which the Koreans raced after the ball outcast the bright green jerseys of the Australians. The Australian passes were slow in comparison to their Korean counterparts, and hence were easily intercepted.

At 4:59 min, there was a tangle of arms and legs and sticks and everyone was clammering for the ball with the Australians busy whacking the ball in the direction of the goal and the Koreans trying to sweep it away from their danger zone. The last touch came from an Australian who tapped it slightly and allowed it to rolled towards the goal. However the Korean goalie managed to make a clean catch of the ball just before it rolled past the goal-line! What a close shave!

And at 6:00 min, the Koreans hit home another goal after a couple of attempts that saw the ball veer off away from the goal. Subsequently, the Australians tried to make a come back, unfortunately their passes are either too hard or too fast, or their team mates weren't inthe correct position to conduct a proper rebound into the Korean goal. They always seem to manage to bring the ball down to the Korean's side, but are just unable to finish it off with any clear shot at goal for the Korean defenders are always able to hold off the attacks till the rest of their team mates return to help out and hence, with the Korean danger zone filled with a wall of solid defence, it's no wonder why the Australians find it difficult to convert their shots into goals.

Somehow the Australian passes are readily read by the Koreans and hence their interception is more often than not effective in preventing the Australians from advancing further into their side of the court. Furthermore, the Australian shots are not lethal enough for a goal to be scored. But perhaps this being the first match of the day and the first period, they need time to warm up, so it remains to be seen whether or not their performance would improve over the next 2 periods. Result of period 1 stands at 2-0 to the South Koreans.

Period 2
Just 3:47 min into this period, #2 of Team Korea, Kim Sang Ki received a 2 min penalty for repeated slashing when he tried to prevent the Australians from making a proper pass. Then at 25:23 min, the Australians capitalized on the disadvantage of the Koreans who had 1 man down, to bring home a goal amidst some confusion as a few players were crowding round the goal and made it difficult to see whether the ball crossed the line. Fortunately for the Australians, the referee was standing behind the goal and hence had a clear view of the entire situation and blew the whistle, signalling a goal has been scored.

Subsequently at time 34:39, #2 of Australia, Matthew Benfield incurred a 2 min penalty for locking and the Koreans gained an opportunity to achieve a goal. However, their power play looked slightly clumsy with not many shots taken and hence they failed to take advantage of the situation to increase the goal difference.

This period saw the Aussies coming back stronger than the first period and they managed to battle for greater ball possession which led to more shots taken. However, the unfortunate thing is that they were unable to convert those shots to perhaps achieve an equalizer before the end of the period.

Period 3
At time 43:54, Peter Harris, #11 of the Australian team was given a 2 minute penalty for interference. Here's another opportunity for the Koreans, but just like the previous situation, the Koreans didn't manage to excite the audience much. Action seems to be rather tame for this period and that's unusual for it's the last period!

The referees signalled for a delayed penalty for slashing at 46:45 min and this was realised at 46:51 when the Koreans lost possession of the ball and also an opportunity to score. This is the 3rd power play that the Koreans have been given but they have not been able to produce any tangible results.

Then at 48:49 min, #37 of the Korean team, Lee Baek Hee, made use of a rebound from the boards behind the Australian net to tap in a goal through a space that the Australian goalie did not have time to cover. After 3 power plays and zero goals from it, the Koreans finally brought the goal difference up to 2 points with a score of 3-1.

Just at the 50th min, Australian #10, Donald O'Brien was running with the ball at this blade down the right flank when Korean #77, Seo Kyoung Hoon, the one who lost possession to Donald initially gave chase with seemingly superhuman speed and caught up with Donald to regain control of the ball! The high speed chase that laid out before the audience was simply amazing and I'm sure Donald was surprised by the quick recovery Kyoung Hoon had displayed!

Subsequently at 54:07 min, #19 of the Australian team, Aidan Knapp, received from his team mate a free hit at the corner of the court. He then brought it round the back of the Korean goalie and executed a quick shot into the opposite top corner of the Korean net to bring their goal tally up to 2 points versus the Korean's 3. In the remaining minutes of the match saw the Australians dominating, however, the score line of 3-2 to the Koreans did not change at all even after the final whistle was blown.

The Australian coach, Juerg Kihm has expressed a certain degree of disappointment in the result of the match. He said that his team did play according to game plan and despite the score, they had improved over the last couple of days, but the team would have to improve on their finishing otherwise they would not do well on the international scene and they'll have to get used to the speed being played as well as not commit silly mistakes when passing.

The end of the match saw the teams getting together for a photoshoot - and with that, a happy ending!!! :)

호주전 또한 명승부

너희는 앞으로 계속 우리의 밥이다.

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