Both Australian teams suffered setbacks on the third day of the 2023 Indoor Hockey World Cup taking place in South Africa.
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The Aussie men put up a gritty performance before losing to Iran 6-4, while the women suffered their first defeat to reigning world indoor champions The Netherlands, losing 8-0. The men first took centre stage and faced a formidable opponent in Iran, who took the bronze medal in the last competition in 2018, beating Australia in the play-off.
Illawarra's William Orth, making his debut for Australia, was surprised at the pace of the Iranians, adding that they could not just hold them.
"The game was very fast but both teams were competing very well. But Iran were very fast and skilful and was a tough game," Orth said.
It was indeed a very fast game, with the Aussies coming back thrice but taking the lead in the 10th minute through Victorian Jake Sherren from a penalty corner. The more experienced, semi-professional Iranians then stamped their authority on the game racing to a 3-1 half-time lead.
Ben Staines pulled one back at 4-2 from a penalty corner before the Iranians took control taking the score to 6-3 with Norouzz Reza, a veteran of 62 caps, completing his hat-trick. Captain Sherren also completed his hat-trick two minutes from time.
The team will need to beat the Czech Republic to reach the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, the Aussie women also faced a very experienced Dutch outfit, whose starting line up had players with over 30 caps each, compared to Aussie Emma McLeish's own 42 caps to her credit.
"While it was obviously not the result we were hoping for we will learn and move on," Australian coach Mark Sandhu said. "Our focus is still to finish as high as possible in our group."
The Dutch completely overpowered the Australians, running to a 5-0 lead at the break with a brace from Imhof Pam. Dutch captain Zwinkels Donja, with 36 caps to her credit, showed her pace against the Australians, finishing her hat-trick in the second half - including a goal in the first quarter - to score four goals in the game.
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