25 Jul 2011

Australia wrap up tournament with loss

7:09 am on 25 July 2011

Australia finished off their four nations hockey tournament in Germany with a disappointing 2-1 loss to Spain.

The Kookaburras got off to the perfect start when Matthew Butturini opened the scoring only minutes into the game and they continued to control the match and did all of the attacking in the first half, but despite some close calls were unable to add to their score.

Glenn Turner was again a focal point for the Kookaburras in attack, however Spain managed to work their way onto the scoreboard thanks to a well executed penalty corner in the dying minutes of the first half to level the score.

Spain continued their momentum into the second half and scored early to take the lead.

The Kookaburras had a final chance at an equaliser when they were awarded a penalty corner with only one minute remaining, however the shot was defended well and Spain hung on for the win.

The Kookaburras were thumped 6-1 by the Dutch in their opening match then bounced back to beat the world No.2 Germans 3-1 on Saturday.

They will now travel to France to compete in a five nations tournament to complete their tour of Europe.