NZ Women to play for bronze medal

The New Zealand Women will play for the bronze medal after being defeated 3-0 by Great Britain in the semi finals at the Rio Olympic Games.

New Zealand were never able to get a hold on the game while Great Britain took control in the second half to secure a place in their first ever gold medal match.

The Kiwis created plenty of scoring opportunities but failed to put any past the strong and structured Great Britain defence.

Great Britain now meet the Netherlands in the gold medal game while New Zealand battle it out against Germany for bronze at 3:00am on Saturday morning (NZ time).

Head coach Mark Hager said it was disappointing not to play as a team unit against a fired up Great Britain side.

"We were apprehensive right from the start and didnt play as a team. Youre not going to win games off one or two individuals and the disappointing thing is I know were better than that," he said.

"We ran the ball too much as individuals, didnt stick to our game plan and couldnt put anything on target in the attacking circle. Great Britain worked hard, were tougher physically and outmatched us today. They deserved to win.

"We need to go away and reflect on how we played tonight. We still have a bronze medal on the line so we can either feel sorry for ourselves and come away with nothing or get better and make sure we win bronze."

It was an up tempo start to the game with both sides going end to end and creating chances on attack.

Great Britain made the most of a penalty corner in the 21st minute when Alex Danson pounced on Sally Rutherfords initial save and flicked into goal.

New Zealand poured the pressure on in the third quarter but werent able to capitalise on any of their half chances.

Great Britain extended their lead in the 47th minute when a defensive blunder gave away a penalty stroke which Helen Richardson-Walsh slotted past Rutherford.

Four minutes later it was another penalty stroke which allowed Danson to score her second goal of the match and seal the result for Great Britain.

In todays other semi final, the Netherlands progressed to the gold medal match after defeating Germany 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after the game was drawn 1-1 at fulltime.

The result gives the Dutch the chance to defend their Olympic title after they won the London 2012 gold with a 2-0 result over Argentina.

New Zealand 0

Great Britain 3: (Alex Danson 2, Helen Richardson-Walsh)

Halftime: Great Britain 1-0





- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Hockey NZ