Hockey: NZ hold on for deserved draw

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The New Zealand men's hockey team could not match the razzle-dazzle shown by the All Blacks in beating the Springboks but took some satisfaction in their corner of the republic.

They held higher-ranked Korea to a scoreless draw in the opening match of the Champions Challenge, in Randburg.

The Koreans, ranked fourth in the world, are already assured of their place at next year's Olympics as the top Asian nation.

They are hellbent on winning this tournament and with it, the opportunity to get back into the Champions Trophy.

New Zealand, ranked ninth in the world, took time to settle and were under pressure for much of the first half. A combination of some excellent goalkeeping from Paul Woolford and some tenacious defending kept them in the match.

New Zealand conceded too much possession and were forced to defend for long periods in the first 35 minutes.

But they started strongly in the second half and immediately created a chance for David Kosoof which was well saved by the Korean goalkeeper.

Shrugging off recent injury concerns, centre-forward Phil Burrows played well, as did Mitesh Patel, who picked up his game in the second half.

The Koreans had to play with only 10 players for two 10-minute spells after having players yellow-carded.

Coach Charlie Oscroft said his players had coped well with some questionable Korean tactics.

"We were determined to reduce the number of penalty corners we have been conceding and, at the same time, try and lift the number of corners we won," said Oscroft.

"We did both."

In the end, Korea forced four penalty corners to New Zealand's three.

New Zealand rested drag-flick expert Hayden Shaw for 25 minutes of the match.

He was not expected to play in the overnight match against Malaysia, to give his injured groin more time to heal before the key match against tournament favourites Spain.

Malaysia, beaten 3-1 by South Africa in their first-round game, had early problems in having a player red-carded and therefore ruled out of the match against New Zealand.