| Poor finishing costly for NZ |
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| 01 December 2003 By BRUCE HOLLOWAY More clinical finishing please. That's what the inventive but erratic New Zealand men's hockey team need if they are to earn a ticket to the Athens Olympics next year. New Zealand fluffed a great opportunity to record their first series win over the Great Britain men's team in Hamilton yesterday when they squandered a 2-1 half time lead to lose 4-2. It meant the five-test series –- a warm-up for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Madrid in February, where New Zealand needs to finish in the top six –- was drawn 2-2 after the home team had worked themselves into an unbeatable position with a hard-fought, last-gasp 2-2 draw at Mt Maunganui on Saturday. Not for the first time in this series, New Zealand coach Kevin Towns was upset by the umpiring –- he even walked on to the pitch at one stage to register his displeasure –- and was still too fired up about it to comment after the match. But his assistant Charlie Oscroft was quick to acknowledge New Zealand let Britain off the hook. "We should have been three or four up, but missed some golden opportunities," Oscroft said. "They were chances you'd expect your senior players to put away. "But good on the Brits. They kept going and took charge and need to be congratulated for that. They are a hard side to beat." The tourists, ranked eighth in the world to New Zealand's 11, struck an early lead when Martin Jones drove the ball home through a sea of black shirts in the 14th minute. But giant New Zealand defender Hayden Shaw expertly drilled home two penalty corners in the 18th and 20th minutes to put his team in front in a fast and open contest. It was no more than New Zealand deserved after displaying greater continuity in the first half. But they were later left to rue a string of missed chances. They failed to capitalise on dangerous dabs by David Kosoof, Wayne McIndoe, Phil Burrows and substitute Gareth Brooks and Britain bounced back to have the better of the second spell. New Zealand became too loose, pushed up on attack, and allowed Britain to get in behind them with some creative breaks. Britain's nippy 19-year-old forward Barry Middleton scored two goals within a minute midway through the second spell to kill New Zealand's hopes of a series win. In the 52nd minute he deflected in a penalty corner, then found the far corner of the goal with a rasping shot on the turn. Defender Ben Hawes completed the scoring in the 65th minute from his team's seventh penalty corner. British keeper Simon Mason, a veteran of over 120 caps, showed his class in the second half, thwarting further efforts from Brooks, Simon Towns and Shaw. Hamilton's veteran international Wayne McIndoe –- who gave a typically reliable performance –- said the tour had served its purpose. "Both teams were holding back in that they were rotating players, experimenting with combinations and not wanting to show their hand too much before the Olympic qualifiers," he said. |
 STICK MEN: New Zealand forward Umesh Parag, left, and British defender Robert Todd stuck to their tasks during the hockey international at the Gallagher Hockey Centre. CAROLYN ELLIOTT/Waikato Times
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