The Vantage Black Sticks Men have set up a fifth place playoff following a 2-0 win over Egypt at the Hockey World League Semi Final in Johannesburg.
The Kiwis struggled to capitalise on their chances in a goalless first half before scoring from two second half penalty corners.
Nick Haig
lit up the score board in the 36th minute after flicking home from a well-worked corner variation by Nic Woods.
The same set piece move worked perfectly again in the 50th minute, this time Kane Russell the man firing into the back of the net.
New Zealand will now meet the winner of the Ireland vs France classification playoff at 4:00am on Sunday morning (NZT).
There is plenty still to play for with the victor of the fifth-place playoff earning automatic qualification to the 2018 Hockey World Cup in India.
Defender Russell said it was tough going against the Egyptians but good to be able to lift in the second half and record a win.
"It was a tough game for us today and we probably started a bit slowly - we would have liked to get some more out of our chances in the first half," he said.
"We were able to hang on and put two goals on the board which was good and we need to come out firing for our last game to make sure we finish fifth and qualify for the World Cup."
In semi-finals fixtures at the tournament, Spain play Germany while Belgium meet Australia to determine who progresses to the gold medal match.
VANTAGE BLACK STICKS 2: (Nick Haig, Kane Russell)
EGYPT 0
Halftime: 0-0
- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Hockey NZ
