Hockey: Jinx needing to be broken

By BRONWYN SELL

New Zealand have never beaten Pakistan in men's hockey, but coach Kevin Towns reckons tomorrow's semifinal is our best chance yet.

"Pakistan haven't been playing well," Towns said after his team scraped a 3-2 win out of a tense and unexpectedly tough encounter with the Canadians yesterday.

"We'll try to close them down as quickly as we can."

Towns said he had not expected such a fight to overcome Canada, who New Zealand had already easily beaten twice this year in World Cup qualifiers. Neither had his team expected it.

"It seemed to me that the players thought the game had been won before they got on the pitch."

The Canadians took early advantage of the New Zealand brashness when Wayne Fernandes scored from a penalty corner in the sixth minute.

New Zealand equalised 10 minutes later with a penalty stroke by towering rookie Hayden Shaw.

But the Candians hit the front again after another successful corner.

Possession was not the problem - the Canadians hardly got to touch the ball - but their red shirts seemed to far outnumber the black.

The Canadians were dogged in defence, forcing the New Zealanders repeatedly to seek refuge in their own half, the defenders passing the ball between them as if it was a game of pinball, unable to break through the red line.

The fulltime statistics were telling: New Zealand had 15 shots at goal, Canada only three, all from penalty corners.

Towns was not a happy man at halftime. His lecture, in which he urged the team to turn the tables and become the aggressors, was the harshest he has given in 11 years.

He described his comments as "imploring." Assistant coach Charlie Oscroft, who was so frustrated during the first half that he gave the seat in front of him an almighty kick, called them "pretty choice." They worked. The New Zealanders shut down the Canadian attack and fired at the goal again and again.

The Canadian defence did not hold out for long, Shaw scoring again five minutes into the second half.

With minutes to go, the scores level, and the Canadians desperate to win, they gave up on defence. The goalkeeper discarded his pads and took to the field.

New Zealand capitalised, Shaw picking up a third goal five minutes before fulltime to secure the win.

The 21-year-old has scored 11 goals in his four games, making him the leading scorer of the competition.

He is wary of the game against Pakistan, and especially of key attacker Sohail Abbas - "the world's best flicker in penalty corners."

There will be none of yesterday's pre-match cockiness tomorrow.

The best result New Zealand have had against Pakistan was a draw in 1990. The best result tomorrow will be the team's first Commonwealth Games medal.

In yesterday's other qualification match, South Africa sent England crashing out 1-0 to earn a semi against Australia.

Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002

Medal table

Commonwealth Games info and related links