It needed to be stopped, too. New Zealand were protecting an improbable 1-0 lead in the gold medal playoff and the 11 New Zealanders were of a mind that anything that had to be done in that final 10 to 15 minutes to protect the lead, well, it just had to be done.
They had already pushed around the edges of probability just to be in the final.
New Zealand had a hockey tradition of sorts, but it wasn't one flushed with Olympic success. Sixth was their best placing, at Melbourne and Rome. Surprising, then, that Greg Dayman should be so bold as to suggest that if New Zealand were ever to win an Olympic gold, it would be at Montreal.
Pool play did not necessarily bolster his argument, especially after they were humbled 2-5 by Pakistan. They scraped into the semifinals via a playoff against Spain that went to three periods of extra time.
New Zealand played their most confident hockey of the tournament to finish normal time at 1-1 against the Netherlands. Once more the match went to three periods of extra time before Dayman broke the deadlock.
Australia, who had beaten the classy Pakistanis in an ill-tempered semifinal, were justifiably confident ahead of the final. New Zealand had never beaten them in seven years.
When Ramesh Patel missed a penalty stroke, the worst was feared, but Tony Ineson slammed in a second-half penalty corner to seize the lead.
Then it was Manning's final.
His goal was peppered in the final quarter but he stood firm, buckling only when stopping the aforementioned rocket.
The hooter went, New Zealand had won.
Only later did the celebrating players learn that their keeper had finished the match with a shattered kneecap.
