New Zealand to play off for Bronze Medal

New Zealand’s fairytale run at the Junior World Cup ended in a 1-4 semi final loss to the Netherlands. New Zealand dominated play for much of the 1st half and thoroughly deserved their 1 – nil half time lead. Captain Simon Child put his team in front when he dribbled the ball along the base- line and deftly flicked it past Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak. The Dutch PC specialist Mink van der Weerden was thwarted in the last minute of the 1st half by Devon Manchester in goal, pulling off a good save. Netherlands coach Paul van Ass conceded that "New Zealand played far better than we did in the first half. We had a little bit of nerves and I noticed that for the first time in the tournament and maybe it's because we had something to lose”. During his half-time break he told his team that he didn’t care if they lost but would hate it if they didn’t try and for them trust the systems. His words must have hit home as the Dutch came out firing and equalised four minutes into the second half when Jan-Willem Buissant converted a field goal. Netherlands kept the pressure on New Zealand, especially keeper Manchester who was repeatedly challenged by their attempts to score. He executed two consecutive saves, one of which was an excellent fend-off during a penalty corner drag-flick, but was unable to stop Mink van der Weerden's drag-flick goal in the 60th minute off another penalty corner. In a crucial turning point in the match Thames Valley and Midlands defender Ricky Clark lost his footing and a Dutch striker conned the ref into sending him off by playing the ball into him whilst he was on the ground. The ensuing PC saw Van der Weerden repeat his drag-flick to give his side a game breaking3-1 lead with 8 minutes to play. New Zealand were unable to repeat their late two goal come back like they did against the same opponents in pool play and Robbert Kemperman cemented the win with a field goal in the 65th minute giving his side a flattering 4-1 win. The Netherlands will play three time world champion Germany in the Final on Sunday while New Zealand and Australia will face off for 3rd-4th place. Both matches will take place in Johor Bahru on Sunday. The Germans are through to the final after beating Australia 3-2 in sudden death golden goal extra time in the other semi final.

Junior BlackStick coach Peter Miskimmin said after the match "I thought for three quarters of that game we were going to win...but we just couldn't turn it into a result. The Dutch took another step up and at critical moments in the game, they controlled it and their dead ball skills and corners were the difference between the two teams in the end. I am immensely proud of my boys. They are devastated and they have never been in this situation but they just have to pick themselves up for the play-offs for third and fourth. Australia play a very aggressive and a very fast game. But there's a medal up for stake so I expect my boys to come out and want it. I can't ask for anything more than that. It's always hard to play teams that you play a lot. They know you, you know them. It's a lot about who can execute best on the day."

New Zealand make Semi Finals despite 0-2 loss to Australia

New Zealand continue their fairytale run at the Junior World Cup being played in Singapore and Malaysia. Although suffering their first loss in seven games of the tournament, a 0-2 defeat delivered by arch rivals Australia, they progress through to the semi finals after Pakistan dumped out Korea with an emphatic 5-1 drubbing. The Pakistani's were eliminated by New Zealand on Monday night (see report below) and Korea had to secure a win with a three goal margin to push out NZ from making further history. Deb Clark (Ricky's mum) reported that although NZ lost they had just as much of the game as the Aussies did. But for some excellent reflexes by Aussie keeper Leon Hayward, and some missed field goals and plenty of PC opportunities by NZ, the scoreline could very easily have been in our favour. Devon Manchester pictured (left) had another top display albeit busier than he had hoped. NZ were without key Wellington defender Blair Tarrant who, through illness, was unavailable for selection . The result leaves New Zealand matched against the winners of the other playoff pool, the Netherlands, whom they played and drew with 2 all in pool play. The Aussies play Germany in Malaysia in the other semi final, whilst NZ stay in Sinapore for their semi, with both being played on Friday night midnight NZT. for more see TVNZ website article. Of note is the fact that 3rd and 4th in NZ Pool Group (India & Poland) top their post section pools and now play off for 9th & 10th. Indian PC specialist DIWAKER slips past Captain Simon Child on the goal scoring list which we hope will spark him into action against the Dutch on Friday midnight.

New Zealand took a step closer to the Semi Finals with a 4-2 win over Pakistan. 

New Zealand draw 3 all v Korea to keep Semi Final aspirations alive. 

New Zealand took a great step toward the semi finals when they led 2-0 through Simon Child and Stephen Jenness field goals. The Koreans equally saw this game as a must win encounter and won a string of penalty corners one of which yielded their first goal to stay in the hunt. Ill discipline possibly cost the Kiwi’s the vital win with a total of three yellow cards being issued. Blair Tarrant was dispatched just before the break and in a five minute period mid way through the second spell the Kiwi’s relinquished their 2-1 lead to trail 3-2. Captain Simon Child was yellow-carded just after Korean Moon Kweon Kang equalised and a costly challenge by Alex Shaw saw the Koreans awarded a stroke and him dispatched to join his captain in the sin bin. With Child’s return, a ten man NZ team threw everything at the Koreans earning a PC which Joseph Bartholomew nailed to equalise. In the other medal round pool matches, Australia lead our Pool with a 6-1 thrashing of Pakistan whilst the Netherlands and Germany grabbed the early advantage toward semi final spots in the other pool with 3-0 and 3-1 wins over Spain and Argentina respectively. New Zealand must win their encounter with Pakistan tonight (Mon 15 June 9-30pm NZT)

Three Midlands U21 players are represented and the team consists of

Joseph BARTHOLOMEW North Harbour
Shay NEAL North Harbour
Marcus CHILD Auckland
Simon CHILD Auckland
Devon MANCHESTER Auckland
Arun PANCHIA Auckland
Ricky CLARKE Midlands

Hugo INGLIS Midlands
Nick ROSS Midlands 
Callum BAILEY Central
Nick WILSON Central
Blair HILTON Wellington
Stephen JENNESS Wellington
Alex SCHRODER Wellington
Alex SHAW Wellington
Blair TARRANT Wellington

George CONNELL Canterbury
Mitch Hyde Canterbury
Coached by Peter Miskimmin assisted by current Black Stick Coach Shane McLeod