Hockey: Japanese improving steadily: Forgesson

Japan coach Yoo Seung Jin with captain Miyuki Nakagawa. Photo/Paul Taylor

See it, smack it. If that is arguably all it takes to put the ball into the cage in hockey then what can possibly be the problem?

Of course, that couldn't be any farther from the truth and no one is in a better position to shed light on such assumptions than Black Sticks striker Krystal Forgesson.

"We've been told to get a few goals as well but it's kind of hard because we have to go through the whole process," says the Auckland player before the New Zealand team play Japan today at 7pm in Hastings.

The 201-match veteran and her teammates will up the tempo in tonight's game in the hope of boosting their overall tally in case the second qualifiers for the inaugural Six Nations tournament here will come down to goal difference for Sunday's finals.

After their 3-2 loss to Argentina and 2-1 to China, the No 5 world-ranked Kiwis will face a crunch game against No 4 Australia who yesterday continued to keep a low profile with the media.

The Aussies have lost 3-0 to No 2 and favourites Argentina but thumped China 4-0 so the transtasman clash on Saturday should be a humdinger, especially if the hosts win.

Effectively, Forgesson says leading into the tourney the Sticks would have put a tick next to the win box against No 9 Japan, especially after the visitors lost their series 5-0 across the Ditch before coming here and losing 5-1 to the Kiwis in a warm-up game in Auckland, but in the past few days the Asians were improving.

Tuesday night's loss to the South Americans, she says, shows the Kiwis are tentative and need to start their games with a hiss and a roar.

New Zealand, Australia and South Korea are in the same pool of the World Cup in The Hague next month.

"We are simulating the World Cup here ... so they are finding some form," says the 31-year-old of Japan.

Forgesson says the Black Sticks' defence shored up well but they were lacking impetus at the coal face on the foundation of finding some cohesiveness in the engine room to provide opportunities in the D with an almost ambush-like mentality.

Like all the other opposition, the Kiwis have been injecting and rotating young blood so finding a modicum of stability and consistency, when the dust settles, will be crucial to the their combinations leading to the cup in The Netherlands.

"Japan play differently. They all tend to sit back with 11 of them getting behind the ball," she says, comparing them with China and South Korea, who tend to employ similar tactics but execute more counter attacks.

The weather is likely to be kinder today compared with Tuesday's downpour but Forgesson doesn't think that's an issue with the excellent turf here, as rain persists tomorrow.

Japan coach Yoo Seung Jin says they have young players in their mix after a rigorous Aussie tour but they would have liked to have beaten their Asian rivals in a win-less tourney so far.

"Three matches are remaining so we'll do our best. No coach wants to lose - never give up," says the Korean-born coach when asked what their chances are of upsetting the hosts, akin to China.

Japan did beat Korea in the Asia Cup last September in Malaysia. "It's a good chance for us here to prepare and [tweak] our squad," he says, emphasising they have two senior players injured at home but will be fit for the World Cup.

Having built a good rapport with Kiwi coach Mark Hager, Japan had no hesitation in accepting the invite to Hawke's Bay where they find people "kind and hospitable" and would return in a heartbeat if invited again next year.

"Hawke's Bay many [people] like hockey so become major sport in New Zealand," he says.

Captain Miyuki Nakagawa says that in Japan children pick up hockey at a late age of 13.

"It's not popular so it's very difficult to compete against teams like New Zealand," says the 27-year-old midfielder from Gifu Prefecture through interpreter Taiki Yoshino, 15, of Karamu High School.

A TV employee for Sony, she gravitated to hockey because her elder sister played it although Nakagawa started with baseball in primary school.

Nakagawa says Japanese negate their smaller stature with team work in trying to overcome bigger sides.