Australia gunning for second title

11/02/2002

THE Australians have always been highly touted and respected in any
tournament for the past 30 years, but they have experienced more sorrow
than joy in their quest for titles.
In the 10th World Cup, they start their quest against hosts Malaysia on
Feb 24, and some see it as a blessing in disguise for the national side.
Should Malaysia lose, they will still have another six matches to make
good in Pool B. Should Malaysia win, they have a good chance of a
respectable World Cup as the other teams in the group are more or less of
equal standard.
Australia, however, will be hard to beat, as they are gunning for their
second World Cup title after winning it in London in 1986.
And the National Hockey Stadium is a good hunting ground for Australia
as they tasted glory there when they defeated Malaysia for the 1998
Commonwealth Games gold, and coach Barry Dancer will be banking on another
fine run at the venue.
They have always started as favourites but Australia, as the 2000 Sydney
Olympics showed, lack the final push that separates them from glory.
In fact, Australia have been guilty of under-achieving for since the
1986 World Cup, all they have to show are four bronze medals.
In the recent Six-Nation in Kuala Lumpur, Australia finished second
behind Pakistan after losing 4-3 to Kashif Jawad's golden goal. But
nothing can be read from that tournament as Australia only played their
best game against Holland in the 4-4 draw.
In the other games, especially against Malaysia, it was evident that
they didn't play as seriously as they should have. They only used about
three variations of penalty corners in the entire tournament and kept the
rest for the World Cup.
Experienced hands like skipper Paul Gaudoin, Brent Livermore, Daniel
Sproule, Craig Victory, Adam Commens and goalkeeper Lachlan Dreher can
always be relied upon.
Coach Dancer, a steady hand during his playing days, is already feeling
the heat because his team always fails in the last hurdle.
In Sydney 2000, they lost to Holland in the semifinals and it was the
same story in the semifinals of the 1994 World Cup, which was also played
in Sydney.
"I don't know why we always fail in the semifinals, maybe we can break
the jinx in Kuala Lumpur," said Dancer after the Six-Nation.
In the 2002 World Cup, nothing is going to stop the Australians from
making the semifinals as they are grouped with Malaysia, South Korea,
India, Cuba, Poland, England and Japan.
Their closest contenders for the top spot are India and Korea and after
that, Australia will have to produce their best as their semifinal
opponents could be Spain, Argentina, Holland, Germany or Pakistan.
A fifth bronze looks possible but Australia will be counting on their
luck holding up in Bukit Jalil.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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