Commonwealth Games: Aussie showdown looms for Black Sticks

The Black Sticks face England in the semifinals after topping their group. Photo / Brett Phibbs

After the fourth and final games in their respective groups, the New Zealand and Australian women's hockey sides are separated by only one goal.

Both teams cruised to top place in pool play by winning all four outings, and both teams scored 25 times in the process. The only difference can be found in the goals against column, where the solitary strike shipped by the Black Sticks sees them slightly off the pace.

"It's a bit of a competition at the moment," said Kiwi striker Krystal Forgesson after her team saw off Canada 6-0 overnight (NZT).

But it's a competition that will have to wait until after Saturday's semifinals, where the transtasman heavyweights need to avoid defeat to ensure Glasgow is treated to the long-anticipated gold medal decider.

For New Zealand, a match with England awaits, while Australia will meet South Africa in the last four. On paper, the traditional rivals should face few problems setting up a final date, with Australia (2) and New Zealand (4) the only Commonwealth nations ranked in the world's top five.

But Black Sticks coach Mark Hager remained wary of the opposition, despite England enduring a miserable one-win World Cup campaign last month.

"You're always wary of wounded teams," he said after watching the romp over Canada. "Their World Cup wasn't a good performance and they know that.

"They've had a change of coach for this tournament and they've been getting better and better, I've felt, each game. I thought they played really well against Australia and I don't think 3-0 was a good reflection of that game.

"We've got to be mindful of them and make sure we do our homework and give them the respect they deserve."

Hager was impressed with England's 2-1 win over Scotland earlier in the day, sealing second spot in their pool, and Forgesson was also expecting a tough encounter in the semifinal.

"We watched the game this morning and they seem to be improving as we go on, so they will be really dangerous," she said. "They're quite attacking at the moment, which is a little bit of a change from the World Cup, so we just have to be aware of that."

The Black Sticks' own attack has yet to gell, Forgesson reckoned, with their impressive offensive output skewed by the 14 they put past a hapless Trinidad & Tobago. There were positive signs in this morning's thrashing of Canada but still too many missed opportunities.

"Canada have been defending quite well so it was satisfying to score a few," Forgesson said. "We're creating lots of opportunities but we're just not quite connecting with them all, so that would be nice to tidy up."

And if the Black Sticks do manage to sweep aside England, the big one awaits on Sunday morning.

"We obviously know Aussie quite a bit, and vice versa, so we're always watching them, and they are playing quite nice hockey," Forgesson said. "They're really dangerous, so we are watching them, but we have to win the next one first."