Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: Last-gasp Goals Help NZ Beat Czech To Remain In Hunt For 5th Place

Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro: New Zealand struck twice in the final three minutes for a last-gasp victory against the Czech Republic that salvaged some pride for the Black Sticks, who had failed to reach the semifinals after losing to hosts India and the United States in the women's FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers here on Thursday.

Held goalless by the 25th-ranked Czech Republic for most of the match, New Zealand, ranked 11th in FIH Rankings, got the goal they were desperately looking for in the 57th minute when Katie Doar deflected home a shot by Samantha Child from close to make it 1-0 at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro-Turf Hockey Stadium here.

Samantha, who returned to action in August last year, seven months after undergoing an emergency caesarean for the birth of her twins, Louie and Freddie, secured the victory in the last minute when she scored a fine field goal to make it 2-0 for the Black Sticks.

The second goal coming in with just 10 seconds remaining on the clock left the Czech players in heartbreak as they had fought well and denied New Zealand till the last three minutes of the match when things took a drastic turn.

Playing a defensive game by packing their half, the Czech Republic defended stoutly and thwarted many attempts by New Zealand. Their goalkeeper Barbora Cazhakova was solid as a rock in the goal and stopped at least half a dozen good attempts by the Black Sticks. She was adjudged Player of the Match for her superb work in the cage as otherwise, the Czechs would have lost by a bigger margin.

New Zealand earned seven penalty corners in all but could not convert any of them. The Czech Republic, who launched some good counterattacks, bagged three PCs but all went in vain.

The Black Sticks, who defeated Italy in their opening match in Pool B, will now play Italy to decide the fifth and sixth places in the event. The Czech Republic will play Chile to decide the seventh and eighth spots.

New Zealand, who were among the pre-tournament favourites for one of the three qualifying berths for the Paris Olympic Games from here, were a huge disappointment as they paid the price for lack of enough match practice as they suffered defeats to hosts India and the United States to finish third in their pool.