After succumbing to Australia 0-1 in their pool match last Wednesday, the Blacksticks women today turned the result around, surprising opponents and spectators alike with a 1-0 defeat of the Hockeyroos. The result has no immediate effect on Olympic qualification however, as Oceania have two direct quota places in the women's tournament and both teams had therefore qualified for Beijing by reaching the final already.
New Zealand and Australia were evenly matched today, with neither team able to gain any significant advantage until Krystal Forgesson took advantage of great groundwork from Caryn Paewai to put away a cracking backstick shot that yielded the match's only goal. The Hockeyroos werent about to give up and relentlessly attacked in the remaining 15 minutes of the match, but the Blacksticks stood tight in defense and held on to their lead.
The result will give a welcome boost to the Blacksticks' World Ranking which took a decline after the Kiwis could not qualify for last year's World Cup, and coach Kevin Towns was also delighted for another reason. "This team runs on confidence and this will be a huge boost for them to win against the world's second ranked team,ÔÇØ he was quoted saying.
In the men's tournament, the final was matched the same two teams, the Blacksticks men taking on the Kookaburras after both teams had dispatched of the third contender Papua-New Guinea with record wins. Australia had won the pool match 2-1 between the two teams on Friday, and the Kookaburras not only held on to their superiority today, but took it up a notch by winning 3-1.
The Australian men had good control over play from start to finish, scoring in the first half through David Guest who converted a penalty corner in the 16th minute. Shortly before the break, the Kookaburras had to take the equalizer at the hands of Dave Kosoof.
The two teams thus went into halftime at 1-1, but after the break, Australia came out blazing, regaining the lead with less than two minutes on the clock as Bevan George deflected a hit near the post. The Kookaburras kept a tight grip on the game and did not allow the Kiwis to get back, but they were unable to score again themselves until near the end of the match, when Travis Brooks added a third goal, driving a ball into the net from the edge of the circle.
With this win, the reigning Olympic champions qualified for Beijing, while the Blacksticks will be looking to win their ticket to the 2008 Olympic Games in the qualifying tournament they are hosting in early February in Auckland.
