Hockey: Hockeyroos don't cry for Argentina in 1-0 triumph

Defender Jodie Kenny, back, agreed the Aussies made it hard on themselves, hanging in there by a thread.

Defending champions Argentina have lost their perch on the Hawke's Bay Cup throne after Australia pipped them 1-0 last night.

The eight-nation tourney form books went out of the window as pool B No3 qualifiers Hockeyroos threw down the gauntlet in just the fourth minute of the quarter-final match to the pool A No2 qualifiers through a Kathryn Slattery field goal.

The Las Leonas haven't really shown much cohesiveness as a team, relying mostly on individualism, and last night was no exception in what was easily the match of the day in a repeat of last year's inaugural final.

The second spell was end-to-end stuff, although the victors were content with sitting back to soak up pressure before counter-attacking.

Defender Jodie Kenny agreed the Aussies made it hard on themselves, hanging in there by a thread.

"I'm so proud of the girls, because it was such a hard game.

"We scored really early and then today we held it out."

Performing on the platform of aggression, the 28-year-old said, sticking to the game plan of trying to eke out more goals.

Kenny said their World No2 side didn't have the best three games leading to the quarterfinal but the beauty of playoffs was the ability to put the rot behind to make a fresh start.

"You have a chance to start clean and knuckle down when you hit that quarter-final," the 128-game veteran said, adding "nothing can stop us" before tomorrow's semifinals.

Argentina player Pilar Romang said they had the lion's share of penalty corners and possession, but accuracy deserted them.

"We're disappointed we didn't score and they didn't gain [much territory]," Romang said.

The 22-year-old midfielder lauded Australia's stoic defence.