Hockey: Women smash hockey hoodoo

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

The 15-year hoodoo hanging over the New Zealand women's hockey team was broken last night and their timing was impeccable - smashing world champions Australia with just weeks to the Olympics.

New Zealand captain Anna Lawrence led the way in the enormous psychological victory in Sydney, scoring all three Kiwi goals from penalty corner blasts.

The 3-0 win at the Olympic stadium bolstered the New Zealanders' hopes of a medal at the Olympics - just 10 weeks away - and gave them the lead in the Tri-Nations series against the defending Olympic champions and Germany.

Last night the New Zealand team were jubilant, yet relaxed, about their historic win.

"It sounds ridiculous, but it was a bit of an anti-climax," Lawrence said. "A three-goal win is a substantial victory. We would have felt different if we had hung in there for a 2-1 win in the last minute.

"We clearly controlled the game. We didn't play our absolute best, but it was so important for us psychologically for the next few months."

New Zealand last beat the Australian women 15 years ago today in a test in Melbourne.

The seemingly unbeatable Aussies reeled off 36 test wins against the Kiwis after that, but in recent months they have revealed chinks in their shinpads.

New Zealand coach Jan Borren said last night that the world champions appear to be crumbling from the inside.

"Some of their invincibility is disappearing," he said.

"It's not only from the opposition, but also from within.

"They are in the last stages of selecting their Olympic team and they look edgy, nervous.

"They played pretty badly actually. They played frantic hockey rather than their usual composed style."

Lawrence's cracking corner strikes - succeeding with three of her six direct shots - was reason enough to celebrate. Her second goal was scored right on halftime, knocking the Australians further off their stride.

By her own admission, Lawrence's penalty shots had been "very average" until this week. She scored one in the 2-2 draw with Germany on Saturday, but couldn't remember when she last scored before that.

"All aspects of our corners were going well. I just managed to connect with a few," she said. "We've done a bit more work on them even in the short time we've all been together in Wellington. Now we've not only beaten the Aussies, but we've scored some penalty corner goals."

Borren poured the praise on Lawrence, not only for her goals, but her work in the field.

"She deserves the credit for this one," he said. "I think all the forwards worked pretty hard. Our inside forwards were a bit more defensive to give the opposition less space."

Goalkeeper Helen Clarke blocked most of Australia's 14 corner shots at goal.

"There aren't many goalkeepers in the history of New Zealand hockey who can say they kept Australia scoreless," Borren said.

Beaten Australian coach Ric Charlesworth wasn't giving too much credit to the Kiwis last night. He admitted they were a quality team, but still reckoned his team had the most possession.

"The first-half goals gave them a bit of momentum. They were up 2-0 which was a bit of an aberration really," he said.

New Zealand could play the Australians in two more tests in the next five days. They meet again on Thursday, before the two top teams play in Saturday's final.

In the meantime, they face the Germans - who drew 1-1 with the Australians on Sunday - again this afternoon.