KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - New Zealand took out their Olympic Games frustrations on Pakistan today, putting them away 4-2 to seal seventh place in the men's hockey tournament.
After having a shot at a semifinals place, pool results plunged the Black Sticks into the playoff for seventh, when they regarded themselves as better than that.
Beset by slow starts throughout the tournament, New Zealand did that again, having to stave off two Pakistan penalty corners in the first 16 minutes.
New Zealand goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex was kept far busier than his opposite Nasir Ahmed.
Ahmed was not called upon to make a serious save until 10 minutes before halftime when he parried away an angled attempt by midfielder Shea McAleese.
That was the signal for New Zealand to catch fire, with striker Simon Child causing turmoil inside the circle.
Child scored in the 29th minute off a Gareth Brooks pass, then missed the target by centimetres in the 30th and 33rd minutes.
Three minutes after halftime Hayden Shaw lofted home a penalty corner, his fifth goal of the tournament, and Gareth Brooks made it 3-0 five minutes later.
There was another twist in the free-flowing game in the 46th minute, when Syed Abbas Haider Bilgrami slammed home a reverse stick goal for Pakistan.
Somewhat oddly, Pakistan's goal resulted in a loud playing of Poi E over the public address system as the scoreboard registered a 3-1 New Zealand lead.
Conversely, when Shaw slotted his second penalty corner in the 52nd minute for a 4-1 lead, the celebratory music was not decipherable as New Zealand-orientated.
A Rehan Butt goal hauled Pakistan back to 2-4 with 13 minutes left.
New Zealand 4 (Hayden Shaw 2, Simon Child, Gareth Brooks) Pakistan 2 (Syed Abbas Haider Bilgrami, Rehan Butt). Halftime: 1-0.
- NZPA
