Hockey: German gain is NZ loss

Germany boosted their chances of qualifying for the semifinals of the men's World Cup when they beat New Zealand in a group A clash.

Their 2-1 win took them to second place with two matches remaining.

Holland lead with 13 points, Germany are on 12, Spain 11, Pakistan and Argentina 9, New Zealand 3, South Africa 1 and Belgium 0.

The top two go to the semifinals.

Australia and South Korea have a big lead in pool B.

New Zealand coach Kevin Towns stressed that his team's results, losses to the Netherlands, Spain, Pakistan and Germany, and a solitary win over South Africa, were not a fair reflection of how the New Zealanders were coping in difficult conditions against quality opposition.

"We can be pleased that we played as well as we did and we can be disappointed we didn't take the points off Germany," Towns said.

Germany, who finished fifth at the Sydney Olympics and were considered by many the favourites to win the world title, snatched the winner with eight minutes to go.

They went 1-0 up when Bjorn Michels scored from a penalty corner two minutes before halftime.

A 52nd-minute penalty stroke converted by Hymie Gill levelled the scores before Christoph Bechmann rifled the ball home for the win.

Again, the New Zealanders were let down by an inability to convert their chances, which for them has been a disappointing theme of the tournament.

But Towns could not fault his players for their endeavour, saying the Germans looked rattled throughout the game.

Towns has generally been satisfied with his team's performances in Kuala Lumpur and hopes they can find some consolation in their remaining matches against Argentina and Belgium.

"I hate to say I'm happy when we're in the position we're in. We let ourselves down against Pakistan and conceded some soft goals at the start of the competition," he said.

" This is a relatively new side; we have five under-21 players here.

"When you look at that and the way we're playing, I believe it looks good for the future, providing some of the more experienced players can hang on through the Commonwealth Games and on to the next Olympics."

- NZPA