Great Britain took a giant leap towards a place in Saturday’s final of the 9th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup.
A nail biting 1-0 win over Australia has given the defending champions 9 points.
But coach Jon Bleby was not looking at a place in the final but rather at one match at a time.
“ We never look ahead but look at the task before us,” said Bleby.
“ Defeating Australia is no easy task and we will savour this win.
“ However Malaysia whom we play next are a different proposition altogether and I foresee a tough match on Wednesday night.”
The two teams had contrasting fortunes prior to this match.
Great Britain went into the match with six points, as a result of wins over Japan and New Zealand.
Australia were however desperate for a positive result having dropped two crucial points in their 1-1 draw against Malaysia.
After a rather slow start, the game started opening up as Britain started to gain more possession, especially in midfield.
And they broke the deadlock in the 6th minute through Jamie Golden.
Australia could not lift their game and opted for set pieces instead direct attempts from penalty corners.
But they failed to make any of the four penalty corners they were awarded count.
Another three penalty corners in the final two minutes were also wasted by Australia.
“ We really deserve at least one point today but failed to make our chances count,” said Australia coach Ben Bishop.
“ This defeat makes our task of making the final difficult but not impossible.
“ We need to win matches and in order to do that we need to start scoring.”
