Black Sticks finish on a low

Though their sixth-place finish at the Champions Trophy reflects their current world ranking, the Black Sticks will leave Argentina with heavy hearts.

They spent three weeks in the land of Tango but never found their rhythm and rarely reached their potential at any stage.

There were good moments - the first half against Argentina, the superb comeback against China and even periods in today's (Monday's) 4-3 loss to Japan but too often they fell short, especially of the standards they set themselves.

"We just haven't been good enough," lamented coach Mark Hager. "And there will be changes; there has to be changes now as this group hasn't performed. We've fallen short in our execution but even more disappointing in terms of effort and execution."

It is tough to say but the truth hurts. Watching the other nations at this tournament, especially teams like Argentina, Holland, Germany and Great Britain it was evident that they approached every moment with maximum intensity, a true fight-to-the-death approach.

"I think the most important thing for us was that we left everything on the field in every match," reflected triumphant captain Luciana Aymar of Argentina after their 1-0 win over Great Britain in the final. "It's something you have to do at this level."

Unfortunately you couldn't say the same about the Black Sticks; too often they left the turf with a horrible feeling of 'if only' swirling around their heads.

"We haven't responded well to pressure situations," said Hager. "Our young ones especially have struggled at this level which has placed a big burden on the senior players."

They did demonstrate plenty of heart and courage throughout the week but ultimately a lack of cohesion, belief and urgency was their downfall at crucial moments.

Staged in the middle of their off season, New Zealand came into the tournament rusty, which must be intensely frustrating for the players, but today's match was their 12th game in three weeks, all against top quality opposition.

Hager was also happy to shoulder his share of the blame for a difficult week.

"The coaching group needs to have a look at themselves," Hager said. "We obviously made some mistakes in how we prepared things."

Hager had concerns before today's match - he felt his team seemed flat.

His radar was spot on. The Black Sticks came up with a lethargic first half, unable to create a single clear-cut chance.

Heads went down early when Japan scored in just the third minute. In a carbon copy of the first goal conceded against Holland, Japanese striker Akane Shibata was allowed to drift inside her marker for a simple tap in - a soft goal at this level.

Japan doubled their score in the 15th minute through Izuki Tanaka as the New Zealand defence was caught ball-watching again.

Thankfully the Black Sticks came out firing in the second half, spurred on by a never-say-die effort from captain Kayla Sharland.

Strikes from Katie Glynn (42nd minute) and Stacey Michelsen (53rd minute) brought the team roaring back.

Japan responded with a third goal six minutes later but when Glynn smashed in a penalty corner with 90 seconds on the clock the momentum was with the Kiwis.

It threatened to be a coaching masterclass from Hager, for both Michelsen and Glynn's goals Hager had called late variations to the penalty corner which worked a treat.

In oppressive heat, New Zealand had early chances in extra time before a turnover in their own territory saw Rika Komazawa scamper through the defence to score the golden goal in the 78th minute.

In the final, Argentina took the lead in the 29th minute and looked comfortable from then on in front of a fanatical crowd. The Netherlands took third place, winning 5-4 over Germany in a thrilling encounter.

Japan 4 New Zealand 3 HT: 2-0

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-APNZ