Umpires:
 

GOALS

Two of the top favorites for this tournament were facing each other on their first match of the tournament. This game enabled both coaches to get an impression about the current form of their teams. Both teams have brilliant corner specialists in their line-up. Santi Freixa for Spain and Troy Elder for the Aussies.

Australia was in control of the match and Spain was waiting for mistakes of the Aussies. Once in ball possession Spain then tried to run counter attacks over their fast forwards Amat, Tubau and Freixa. This concept worked well against the Australian defense that was facing a real difficulty to keep the Spanish forwards under control. Tubau then scored the first goal. Fabregas won the ball in the midfield and passed it to Tubau who took on three defenders and hit the ball into the long corner of the goal. The goal turned the game upside down, Spain played more aggressive and Australia had to deal with the situation being 0:1 down.

In the 23rd minute Tubau scored the his second goal of the game. He deflected a free hit taken by Garza directly into the goal. Australia was now forced to play more aggressive, this gave the Spanish side more space for their dangerous counter attacks. At the end of the 1st half both teams got carried away with silly and unnecessary fouls, however both umpires set their marks and calmed the overheated situation.

Eight minutes into the second half the next shock for the Aussies. Xavier Ribas’s drag flick goes straight into the top right corner of the goal. Australia increased the tempo and tried to put pressure on the Spanish defense. However the only successful result was a corner that Troy Elder converted to the final result of 3:1. In the last twenty minutes Australia worked hard to get back into the game, but Spain managed to defend the circle well and Australia did not manage to score another goal.

A deserved win for the Spanish side. That played its tactical concept throughout the entire game. Australia never managed to control the Spanish forwards, where especially Tubau clearly set a mark today.