KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - When Hayden Shaw belted a hat-trick past the Korean hockey goalkeeper at the Olympic Games last night, it was all thanks to months of research.
Shaw, 27, slotted three goals from four penalty corners as New Zealand came from behind to win 3-1.
One of the
high points of his 140-cap career came after hours in front of the computer studying the Korean keeper, Shaw told reporters.
Shaw has videos of every Olympic keeper and watches them intently.
He knows which side of the net they like to guard, whether they hold their hands high or low, which foot they lead off on when they run out, and much more.
"If they come out and have their hands high, they've then got to move them to get those low ones," he said.
"Quite often (their hands) will come down to mid-range, then they've got to go up, so if you flick it hard enough, it's a longer process to go down and up."
For three days before the tournament opener he revisited his videos of Korean keeper Dong Sik Ko, checking and rechecking months of research.
"I wanted to make sure I had got it right, luckily I did have it right," Shaw told reporters today.
Bang, bang, bang, went Shaw. Ko was beaten and New Zealand were on their way.
Twice Shaw slammed thunderbolts but his favourite goal was the third, a gentle sweep past a rushing defence intent on halting another rocket.
That bit of trickery would prove important later in the Olympics, he said.
"The third goal last night was one we haven't used before, it was one we knew we could use against a team that was trying to charge me down and get out there quite quick," he said.
"It was the one we wanted to get out early in the tournament ... that will probably stop teams, or make them think about how fast they run out. They can't over commit to me because we've got all these other options."
Usually the Black Sticks go into a tournament with seven or eight penalty corner variations. For the Olympics, they have developed variations for every team they could meet in Beijing.
"It's something like between 15 and 20, so we've got lots of options that we can use at penalty corner time," Shaw said.
"They're all very simple, just little changes really. We've got different variations that we can use against each team, which is probably why we have got so many.
"What I love about it is if I put a good flick and it goes where I want it to go and the keeper saves it, then I've done my part.
"I'm not that worried about, you've got to give your opposition a bit of credit, they might get lucky sometimes!"
Prior to the tournament, New Zealand were being touted as a medal chance, thanks to their set piece power, which can dig them out of holes such as the one they were in against Korea, when they trailed 0-1.
Coach Shane McLeod and attacking coach Greg Nicol have worked hard on developing other attacking options, so the reliance on Shaw was meant to have lessened.
So why did the Black Caps revert to him against Korea?
"I wanted it," Shaw laughed.
"After I scored that first one I pretty much said `I want the next one'."
- NZPA
