Australia's Olympic-bound hockey teams have experienced very different fortunes in penalty shootouts after earning hard-fought draws against Germany in the FIH Pro League.
First on Sunday, after scrapping back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at London's Lee Valley centre, the women's Hockeyroos went on to clinch a welcome bonus point in a 4-3 shootout win.
But the men's Kookaburras weren't so fortunate at the same venue later in the afternoon as they also drew 2-2 with their German opponents, only to succumb 5-4 in their shootout.
The fourth-ranked Hockeyroos were left delighted by their win that demonstrated real resilience against the world's No.3 side, who had looked for much of their contest to be the better team.
"Any moment you get to practice high-pressure situations is exactly what we're after in the lead-up to Paris and we got a lot of those today so it was a really good outcome," Aussie goalkeeper Jocelyn Bartram said.
Germany took control in the third quarter, with two superb goals from Hanna Granitzki and Nike Lorenz, the second a brilliant reverse-stick strike stemming from a neat penalty corner routine.
There looked no way back for Trini Powell's side but after earning a penalty stroke for a foul in the circle, Tatum Stewart narrowed the deficit in the 45th minute from the spot, before Jane Claxton, the team's most experienced player, thrashed home an unstoppable shot with nine minutes left to force the shootout.
Bartram then stepped up, making the two key saves that put Australia in the driving seat, before Kaitlin Nobbs sealed victory with an accomplished finish.
In the men's match that followed, German captain Mats Grambusch celebrated his 200th cap with the shootout win after a high-quality, physical affair.
Tom Craig’s 12th-minute tap-in gave the Kookaburras the lead, before Johannes Grosse equalised and Gonzalo Peillat’s drag flick then put the Germans ahead shortly after halftime.
It took a brilliant deflected effort from Tim Brand, latching on a short corner strike, to get the Australians back into the contest, with both teams having their chances to settle the international before it again came down to the shootout.
This time, the Germans prevailed with Flynn Ogilvie missing twice for Australia.
"I love [penalty shootouts]," Kookaburras forward Jake Harvie said post-match.
"It's a great opportunity for us. To come over to Europe right before the Olympics and play some great teams is fantastic. And as much as we would like to have scored a few more in regular time, getting to do a shootout is an awesome opportunity for us."
