THE Hockeyroos have begun their quest for back-to-back Commonwealth Games gold medals in the best possible fashion, beating Malaysia 4-0 on Thursday night.
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Racing to an unassailable three-goal lead after Jodie Kenny, Kellie White and Georgie Parker all found the back of the net inside the opening half, Parker’s second in the 49th minute all but sealed the result in the World Cup silver medallists’ opening pool game of the tournament.
With former Kinross Wolaroi graduate Edwina Bone starting in the opening match of Glasgow 2014, the Australian women made light work of the Malaysians, ranked 21 in the world, with their goalkeeper Farah Ayuni Yahya one of the stars of the show as she pulled off a string of saves to deny Anna Flanagan, White and Parker in the second period.
Following the dominant win, Australian captain Madonna Blyth said the key for the Hockeyroos was not letting their standard of play slip.
“It is always a bit hard for us when we have to play against somebody not quite in our league but I thought they played pretty bravely and their defence was pretty good,” Blyth, competing in her third Commonwealth Games said.
Australia wore black armbands as a mark of respect for those who died in the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 last week.
“There were so many people on this plane, not only from Australia and Malaysia. This way we could show a sign of respect,” Blyth added.
The Australians played Wales in their second match of the pool stages last night, before tackling hosts Scotland on Sunday night at 6pm AEST.