Hockey: Black Sticks' Olympic hopes about to go on the line

4.00pm - By HARRIS CHOY

The Black Sticks will play one of their most important matches in four years when they meet Great Britain on day one of the women's Olympics qualifying tournament in Auckland tomorrow.

A win over the tournament's top ranked side will pave the way to August's Athens Olympics for the New Zealanders.

New Zealand need three wins from their pool of five to be guaranteed a spot in the tournament semifinals and a place in Athens.

They should overcome Ukraine and Ireland comfortably but the matches against Great Britain and Germany will be tough tests for them.

Both Great Britain (fifth) and Germany (eighth) are above New Zealand (ninth) on the world rankings and the Black Sticks are targeting their opening match at Lloyd Elsmore Hockey Stadium tomorrow to get them a ticket to the Games.

The other pool features Korea (ranked sixth), Spain (seven), the United States (10th), Japan (11th) and Russia (17th).

"I think both the record and rankings clearly show we're behind Great Britain but in the recent buildup games all the teams competing (in the qualifying tournament) have had mixed results," Black Sticks captain Suzie Muirhead (nee Pearce) told NZPA today.

"Most teams, including us, will go into the tournament regarding the opponents as of equal strength. Buildup games don't normally have any bearing on tournament play."

Ten teams in two pools will compete for five places in Athens over the 10-day tournament, the biggest in New Zealand since the 1991 men's and women's Olympic qualifiers for the 1992 Barcelona games.

The Netherlands, Australia, Argentina, China and South Africa have qualified already for Athens.

Japan play Russia in the tournament opener tomorrow followed by Urkaine-Ireland, Spain-Korea and New Zealand-Great Britain.

In 11 matches between New Zealand and Great Britain, the Black Sticks have won four and lost seven.

There is a high expectation on the home side after their sixth finish in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

"You'll always get that sort of pressure when you're playing at home, more so because the 2000 team set such a high standard," Muirhead said.

"But there're only four of us from the 2000 team here."

Coach Ian Rutledge sacrificed results and New Zealand's ranking last year to build up his team for the games.

He now has three teenagers, Sharland Kayla, Emily Naylor and Stacey Carr, in the squad.

The average age of his team is 25.3 years with the average number of caps being 59.9, compared with Great Britain's 27.5 years and 136.4 caps.

Great Britain have three double centurions -- Mandy Nicholson (271 caps) Jane Smith (249) and Rhona Simpson (229).

Muirhead, 28, is New Zealand's most capped player of all time with 183 internationals. The other centurions in the team are Helen Clarke (146), Diana Weavers (127) and Caryn Paewai (102). All four played in the previous Olympics.

"We have a nice blend of youth and experience," Muirhead said.

"When Ian came in (2003), he started developing a more attacking style of play. It was one of the reasons I stayed on."

Rutledge, a former Australian men's national training centre coach, said he watched the Black Sticks at the 2002 World Cup where they were a major disappointment and their world ranking suffered.

"The team played a high percentage of good hockey but a small percentage of players needed refining."

Rutledge moved Muirhead to centre-half from flank defence to use her experience, control and skills. She has excelled in the new role.

"I'm far more involved (in the game) and I enjoy it more," she said.

The move has added thrust to the Black Sticks attack, where Sharland, 18, and Niniwa Roberts Lang, have benefited in their striking role.

Clarke was a star of the 2000 Olympics and Lizzie Igasan has developed into a world class defender in tandem with Weavers.

Muirhead said the recent Black Sticks camp ensured a thorough preparation and warmup matches over the last week against the US, Spain and Korea allowed the team to iron out minor problems.

"We didn't take all our opportunities in those matches and in a tournament like this and especially against teams ranked higher than you, you just can't afford to miss those chances.

"Hopefully it will all come together when the tournament starts."

- NZPA