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Richard Petherick - Source: Photosport -
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The Black Sticks rode their luck, used some get out of jail free
cards, and eventually sneaked home 5-4 over South Africa in a
shoot-out to claim ninth place at the hockey World Cup in India on
Saturday.
Again, the victory posed more questions for coach Shane McLeod than
providing him with the answers he was looking for.
Down a goal inside three minutes and still trailing by that at
halftime, New Zealand got back to 1-1 four minutes in the second
spell and took the lead within two minutes before surrendering that
advantage. Again, they hit back quickly to lead 3-2.
The goal-fest continued as South Africa scored again in a frantic
11-minute burst to level 3-3 before further turning the screws in
going ahead with 14 minutes to play.
For all but the last few seconds they were rarely troubled in
holding on.
With the clock running down, the Black Sticks won a penalty corner.
With the end-of-match hooter having already been blown, Andy
Hayward stepped forward and slotted for 4-4 with his third drag
flick of the half.
Sent to two periods of sudden death extra time, Hayward had a near
miss on the hooter and the game went to a penalty stroke
shoot-out.
The score went to 2-2 after misses from both sides, and then 4-4
before Black Sticks goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex denied the South
Africans a 5-4 lead. Stand-in captain Dean Couzins then fired one
low and hard to beat Erasmus Pieterse for a 5-4 win.
Despite the win McLeod was far from happy.
"We have standards which we fell short of today," he said. "Some
players did not perform to the standard we were expecting. We have
to give the South Africans some credit for that.
"They play a hustle and bustle style which is not easy to counter
but, more importantly, they came in the game determined to finish
ninth, which would have been a creditable effort. As much as I
don't like to admit, there was a hint of complacency among our
players and it showed.
"It is not ideal in having to play catch up, but we should be good
enough to do it."
While refusing to make excuses, McLeod again reiterated how
difficult it had been for his team in playing without strikers
Simon Child and Phil Burrows.
"It meant a player like Nick Wilson, at just 19 years of age, had
to step up as our senior striker. That is a big ask and I thought
he responded to the challenge magnificently."
He was not so glowing in looking elsewhere, admitting he was now
prepared to make "the hard calls" in naming his next squad.
"We will freshen our squad now. It would be a crime if we didn't
introduce new players. That process has already started.
"We have the opportunity at a four-nation tournament in Nottingham
in July to have a look at these players," McLeod said.
New Zealand will now likely climb one place to seventh in world
rankings.
