The rebuilding Kookaburras have pulled off an upset 4-2 FIH Pro League men’s hockey win over the Netherlands in their Olympics quarter-final rematch.
Jake Harvie scored first before goals from Davis Atkin, Cooper Burns and Ky Willott helped Australia exact some revenge on the world No.1 side at Sydney Olympic Park on Thursday.
Miles Bukkens and Tjep Hoedemakers reduced the deficit to one goal but Willott found the back of the net to kill off the visitors’ second-half challenge.
The match cames five months after the Netherlands knocked the Kookaburras out of the Paris Games with a 2-0 quarter-final win.
Australia’s Olympics crash-out triggered a squad upheaval, with former Kookaburras captain Mark Hager replacing long-time coach Colin Batch.
Hager named only nine of the 22-man Paris squad for the Pro League stage in Sydney and called up eight debutants for their opening match against Spain.
Despite a 2-1 loss to the Spaniards, Hager opted against changing his side for their Netherlands match.
Australia found the opener thanks to a foul by Joep de Mol on Willott, with the Netherlands conceding a penalty corner.
The corner shot by newly-blooded Tom Harvie hit the foot of an opposition defender in a congested passage of play, resulting in a penalty stroke.
Harvie’s older brother Jake, who played in the Olympics quarter-final loss alongside Willott, stood up to take the penalty and easily converted.
Atkin then hit the scoreboard with a half-volley after a brilliant long-distance pass from Corey Weyer.
The Netherlands were adamant Atkin did not have a clear landing zone to receive Weyer’s pass, but the goal stood after a review.
Burns’s goal also survived a review, initially believed to have used the wrong side of the stick to score.
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