New Zealand 3
Netherlands 1
Shrugging off a 34-year wait to beat the Dutch, the New Zealand men's hockey team did it in style with their win in their third match at the Champions Trophy in Monchengladbach, Germany, yesterday.
Unlike their last win over the Netherlands - in the semifinals at the 1976 Montreal Olympics when they were taken to a third period of extra time before winning 2-1 - the Black Sticks were in the driving seat from the time Simon Child gave them their 14th-minute lead.
Andy Hayward doubled the advantage seven minutes before halftime when he fired a low shot inside the right post from a penalty corner.
In a match in which both sides forced three penalty corners, the Black Sticks were the only team to prosper with the Dutch missing all three, although one attempt led to a penalty stroke which veteran captain Teun de Nooijer converted in the 49th minute.
The Dutch applied the pressure as they chased an equaliser but it was New Zealand who scored just two minutes later when Blair Hilton pounced on a rebound from goalkeeper Mark Jenniskens' pads after a powerful run into the circle by Black Sticks captain Phil Burrows.
The 3-1 victory was bittersweet revenge for the Shane McLeod-coached New Zealanders, who were beaten by the same score when the two sides met at the World Cup in New Delhi in March. The Netherlands went on to beat England for bronze while the Black Sticks finished ninth.
The three goals scored by the Black Sticks yesterday marked just the third occasion in 23 Champions Trophy matches they have scored three or more goals.
On the last occasion they drew 3-3 with Spain in 1984. Before that, in what was their only previous victory, they beat Spain 4-0 in the inaugural Champions Trophy in Pakistan in 1978.
In those 23 matches, New Zealand have now won two, drawn five and lost 16, scoring 35 goals while conceding 71. Two of the heaviest defeats have come at this tournament - 9-1 to Australia on opening day and 5-2 to Germany in round two. Their only bigger losing margin came in their first Champions Trophy outing in 1978 when beaten 6-2 by Pakistan.
McLeod was overjoyed with the win over a Dutch side that included 10 of the players who had played in the World Cup clash in March.
"For us it is a very good result and has been a long time coming," said McLeod. "To beat Holland for the first time in the Champions Trophy means a lot to our guys."
Burrows paid tribute to his players, who withstood a fired-up Dutch side as they threw everything at the Black Sticks in a frantic second half.
"We worked overtime to pressure the Dutch," said Burrows. "That was the key thing today - we broke up their rhythm quite well and then had to back-tackle all over the park which we did well."
Dutch coach Paul van Ass was not happy. "We started very poorly and had no ball speed and no rhythm," he said. "That helped New Zealand a little bit but they did a fantastic job in our weakest moments, which were in the first 15 minutes."
Former New Zealand coach Kevin Towns hailed the victory as "pretty significant. To win any match at a Champions Trophy is bigger than anything at a Commonwealth Games and we should all be quite excited by it."
The other third-round matches ended 3-2 with Australia beating England in their third straight win while Spain overcame Germany.
New Zealand next play Spain (2am NZ time) tomorrow before a final pool match against England (11pm NZ time) on Saturday.
HARD FOUGHT
NZ men at the Champions Trophy
* 1978 (Pakistan)
Played 4, won 1, lost 3 (finished 4th of 5)
* 1983 (Pakistan)
Played 5, won 0, drew 1, lost 4 (finished 6th of 6)
* 1984 (Pakistan)
Played 5, won 0, drew 2, lost 3 (finished 5th of 6)
* 2004 (Pakistan)
Played 6, won 0, drew 2, lost 4 (finished 6th of 6)
