Hockey: Black Sticks in quest for final in Malaysia

Dean Couzins reaches for the ball. Photo / Daniel Carson.

The New Zealand men's hockey team have made a good start to the Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia with comfortable wins over India and Argentina but it is what happens at the end that is more important to captain Dean Couzins.

The Black Sticks notched a 5-2 win over Argentina on Friday night to go with their 5-1 triumph over India the previous day and Couzins is now intent on his side progressing all the way to the final of the seven-team tournament.

It's something New Zealand have never done before - they finished third in both 2008 and 2009 - and at seven in the world are the third-highest ranked side behind Great Britain (four) and Korea (six).

The Black Sticks have a much-needed rest day today - as many as six members of the squad went down with a gastro infection on the eve of their first game - before taking on Pakistan tomorrow night (NZT). Pakistan beat Argentina 4-2 in their only match so far.

"We are in a really good position for the rest of the tournament," said Couzins, who is on track to play his 250th international at the tournament. "We have given ourselves a really good chance to push on to make the final.

"The beauty of Azlan Shah Tournament is that you play different opposition every day, so it's great preparation for the Olympics. The way we are treating this is we want to make the final because we want to play in those real pressure games that we will experience in London. We are on track to do that but there's lots of hard work to come."

Coach Shane McLeod needs to settle on his 16-strong Olympic squad at the conclusion of the tournament and is trying out a handful of fringe players to give them a chance to squeeze their way into the team for London. It has meant most players getting an equal share of game time, something that was also necessary because of the illness that swept the team.

The Black Sticks had to come from behind against Argentina, who scored in the third minute, and the two teams were locked 2-2 56 minutes into the match. But New Zealand found their rhythm towards the end of the game, scoring goals to Andy Hayward, Shay Neal and Arun Panchia. Goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex also saved a penalty stroke.

New Zealand 5 (Phil Burrows, Richard Petherick, Andy Hayward, Shay Neal, Arun Panchia) Argentina 2 (Lucas Cammareri, Lucas Martin Vila). HT: 1-1.