Hockey: The dream ends in tears

By SUZANNE McFADDEN


Tears of embarrassment flowed in the dressing room after the New Zealand hockey team melted under the heat of Olympic gold on Wednesday night.

"We choked," admitted Anna Lawrence, one of those emotionally drained after the 7-1 thrashing which kicked the Kiwis out of Olympic town without a hint of gold, silver or bronze.

The Argentine women danced and sang "No-one can beat Argentina" as they charged into Thursday's final with Australia - a spot that could have been the New Zealanders'.

But for the Kiwis, the pressure of a shot at gold in the all-or-nothing showdown was too heavy to bear.

Perhaps it was the hero status suddenly thrust upon them before they had even got to this point.

Maybe it was the visit by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, on the morning of the big game.

Or was it that they were running on empty after the traumatic last-seconds draw with Spain two nights before?

"We were in an amazing situation - we could have had gold or silver. It was the biggest moment we've had," said former captain Lawrence.

"But we just didn't cope with the pressure. We got completely well-beaten."

The New Zealand players were unusually dry-eyed as they drifted off the pitch, but the floodgates opened when they left the dugout.

For a lot of them, it was probably the last international game of hockey they will ever play.

"Some were embarrassed - because they knew everyone was watching at home," Lawrence said.

"There was a kind of disbelief. We were sitting there going 'Oh my God'. There were definitely tears."

The Kiwis said they ran like there were lead weights strapped to their legs. The Argentinians flew like falcons. None more so than the awkward-looking Vanina Oneto, who glided around the stilted New Zealand defence to score four incredible goals.

"Everything they touched turned magical. Everything we did was wrong," said Lawrence.

From the moment the New Zealanders walked on the turf they were missing spark. Argentina pushed them backwards and held them there, scoring three goals before New Zealand retaliated just before halftime.

Tina Bell-Kake hit the backboard with a sweet corner push, but she walked back to halfway shaking her head as though the curtains had already been drawn.

The New Zealanders became a black background as Oneto went into a scoring frenzy after the break.

New Zealand coach Jan Borren wore a smile of resignation as his team walked off, ending up sixth - their pre-Olympic ranking.

The players stared down at the red plastic grass as he told them to be proud of themselves.

Later, Borren spoke of missed opportunities and a "greater share of disappointments" than most had had at this Olympic hockey tournament.

But frankly, he said, New Zealand were not quite good enough to get a medal.

"It was all too much in the end. You have to be in that situation a few times to really be able to deal with it," he said.

"We never got past feeling absolutely knackered in the first part of the match.

"It's a bit sad. It was a good campaign, we had a good tournament and we didn't deserve to finish like this."

And it was an unhappy ending to many long careers on Wednesday night.

Nobody would say for sure that they were opting for retirement. But at least half the team - who have played more than 100 tests together - are considering a new life away from hockey after committing the last three years to this campaign.