New Zealand ended the German leg of their pre-Olympic women's hockey campaign with a 0-2 loss to Germany at Bad Neuenahr yesterday.
Coach Ian Rutledge believed fatigue may have played a role in the result, which came after several matches over the previous week. Also, the team has trained twice aday when not playing to adjust to the expected heat in Athens.
Two days earlier they beat the Germans 3-1 in a practice match over three 25-minute periods but couldn't repeat the dose. Last week they lost 2-5 to the Germans.
The side were to complete one more training session before leaving for Athens.
Once in the Greek capital, pre-Games matches have been arranged against Australia, South Africa, the Netherlands and Korea.
