GLENN Turner was lost for words in describing his elation at scoring his first goal in green and gold colours at the Champions Trophy on Sunday.
The former Bowral first grader put Australia ahead 2-1 in the first half in their 7-2 thrashing over The Netherlands in Melbourne.
Turner said he was relieved to get on the scoreboard after failing to find the back of the net in the Kookaburras 4-0 win over Korea in the opening game on Saturday. The defending trophy holders are the only undefeated team in the tournament after the first two games.
Turner had an earlier goal, where the ball appeared to go over the line, disallowed against The Netherlands, but teammate Grant Schubert put in the resulting penalty stroke to level the score 1-1 early on.
Schubert went on to bag a hat-trick in the five-goal win.
Turner said his maiden goal in the world’s toughest international hockey tournament was the result of teamwork.
“It was a set play and my job was to get in front of the keeper,” he said.
“I was a bit nervous but now I am more comfortable. It did take the pressure off.”
Scoring on Sunday took Turner’s goal tally to 15 from 19 starts and, with most strikers happy with a 50 per cent ratio of goals to games, Turner was already well ahead of the curve.
The 25-year-old was looking to increase his tally when Australia played England last night. Tuner told the News on Monday that the European championship winners would not be easy beats.
“They beat Germany, Spain and The Netherlands at the Euros and have been unlucky not to win so far,” he said.
“We won’t be taking them lightly.”
England lost to Germany 3-2 on Saturday before drawing with Spain 3-3 on Sunday. With only one point from two games England will be hungry to upset the Aussies and keep their finals hopes alive.
A third successive win would go a long way to securing a finals spot for the Kookaburras with the two top teams from the five-game round robin playing off for the Trophy on Sunday.
Turner said the Kookaburras would try to overrun the English.
“We want to come out aggressive and try to outrun them,” he said.
Turner said he was fitting into the team well and had sought advice from the more experienced Kookaburras.
“You learn a lot just watching them but I have had a chat with some of the older guys,” he said.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said he was pleased with the improvement shown by his younger players such as Turner.
“This tournament is an important cauldron for them to prove that they can play at this level against the top six teams in the world,” he said.
*In Highlands hockey news, Bowral goalkeeper Owen Bunt has been selected as a shadow player for the NSW under-18 team for January’s national championships in Perth.
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