Black Sticks women fail to reach Paris Olympics

The New Zealand women's hockey team have missed Olympic qualification for the first time in 28 years. Photo / Supplied

The Paris Olympics dream is over before it even started for the Black Sticks women after failing to advance to the semifinals at the qualifying tournament in India.

It is the first time in 28 years the women’s team have missed Olympic qualification.

The Black Sticks lost to USA 1-0 overnight, despite having two goals disallowed, which saw them fail to advance from their pool.

New Zealand started brightly with good ball speed and movement but at the first hint of pressure the cracks started to show.

As has been the problem this tournament, the Black Sticks’ wing defence was left wanting allowing the USA an opportunity to penetrate the circle and win a penalty corner, subsequently turned onto the post by Grace O’Hanlon.

From there the USA continued to apply pressure and scored what turned out to be the winner early in the second quarter through an Elizabeth Yeager goal from a penalty corner.

With New Zealand facing an uphill battle they finally earned their first penalty corner of the game five minutes into the second half.

The Kiwis came into the fourth quarter with a hiss and a roar creating attacking opportunities.

They had two goals disallowed from penalty corners with the first being deemed too high off a hit and the second was overruled for a Black Sticks player obstructing a defender.

New Zealand did have a late flurry of penalty corners but they were all dealt with admirably by the USA defence.

Black Sticks Men draw with Germany

The New Zealand men earned a gutsy draw against World Champions Germany overnight in Muscat, Oman in their Olympic qualifying tournament.

It was a game that showcased the improvement the side has made in the past 12 months, with the Kiwis staying in the fight for the full 60 minutes.

New Zealand made a stunning start, scoring straight from pushback with an aerial into the circle, connecting with Sam Lane, who set up Sean Findlay for an easy goal.

Despite the early setback, Germany remained composed and created danger with two shots particularly testing Dom Dixon and a penalty corner halfway through the first quarter was well denied by Dixon.

The pressure from Germany persisted in the second quarter, earning them another penalty corner, which was successfully converted by drag flick specialist Gonzalo Peillat, leveling the score.

Germany’s penalty corner routine struck again, doubling their lead just four minutes later through Tom Grambusch.

New Zealand found their footing in the second half, posing more of a challenge for the Germans and staying right with the third best team in the world.

Kane Russell, for the second consecutive match, delivered a world-class assist into the attacking circle, allowing Hayden Phillips to deflect the ball into the roof of the net in glorious fashion.

As the match headed to an end, New Zealand withstood late pressure, with second-half goalkeeper Leon Hayward making three world-class saves, securing a hard-fought draw.

The Black Sticks men next play Canada on Friday at 1am NZT.