Hockey: Black Sticks turn in a 'complete performance'

Di Weavers in action in an earlier game. Picture / John Borren

The Black Sticks found their best form at the right time to thrash Italy 5-0 in their last pool match and keep alive their World Cup qualifying hopes.

They received a pre-match boost from an unexpected source with Azerbaijan holding Ireland to a 0-0 draw in an earlier game in the Rome tournament.

New Zealand then went into their game with the hosts knowing that a 3-goal win would take them into third place and away from a cross-over game against world No 5 China tomorrow.

The Black Sticks will now meet France - fourth in pool A - at 1.30 tomorrow morning (NZ time) with the winner to meet the winner of the China v Ireland clash in the curtain-raiser to the tournament final.

The winner of that curtain-raiser, at 10.15pm on Saturday, will claim the last of the five World Cup qualifying spots.

New Zealand, at six, are ranked 15 places higher than France and went to Rome chasing a place in their third consecutive World Cup.

Coach Ian Rutledge was pleased with his team's return to form.

"The girls should be very proud of themselves. It was a complete performance," he said.

"It is good to have momentum like this going into the two games which we are now looking at as a semifinal and final."

Italy began strongly but without turning half-chances into goals.

They forced their only penalty corner of the match in the seventh minute but Matilde Canavosio failed to convert.

New Zealand opened the scoring when Di Weavers converted a penalty corner midway through the first half.

The second goal of the half came in the dying seconds after Italian captain Stella Girotti had followed her New Zealand counterpart Suzie Muirhead in being sin-binned.

Again from a penalty corner, Clarissa Eshuis smashed the ball on to the backboard for 2-0.

A third goal from a penalty corner eight minutes into the second spell ended any Italian hopes. Krystal Forgesson deflected high into the goal from the penalty spot to give goalkeeper Roberta Lilliu no chance.

New Zealand's remaining goals - scored in the 55th and 56th minutes - came from open play, with Liz Ryan and Stacey Carr rewarded for their hard work.

Rutledge said the team were finally starting to establish momentum. Muirhead (hamstring) and Weavers (quad) were nursing injuries but he was confident they would not keep them out of the must-win battle with the French.

Continuing his policy of rotating goalkeepers, Beth Jurgeleit will play tomorrow after Anita Wawatai kept her clean sheet against the Italians.

The Black Sticks can look ahead with some confidence.

New Zealand scored nine goals in their previous two matches against France. In 1996, in a World Cup preliminary tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, the margin was 7-0. In the 1991 Olympic qualifying tournament in Auckland New Zealand won 2-0.

In the top of the tables clashes yesterday, Korea beat the United States 3-0 to top pool B and England beat Japan by the same score to take top spot in the other pool.

Ireland made it through to the 5th-8th play-offs by scoring just three goals and conceding two in their five matches.


World Cup path

* New Zealand must beat France.
* Then beat the winner of China v Ireland.
* In six matches against France, New Zealand have never been beaten.
* At this tournament, France lost to Japan 5-0, 10-0 to England and 3-1 to China.