Black Sticks Men secure place at 2020 Olympics after winning qualifiers

The Black Sticks Men have secured their place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The Vantage Black Sticks Men hockey team has booked tickets for the 2020 Olympics.

Stratford was alive with hockey activity this weekend for the two-match Olympic qualifier series.

The Black Sticks took on Korea to secure a spot at the Olympics.

From l-r: Tilly Edwards (6) and Lexi Hancock (10) enjoyed watching the games.

While most of the crowds were backing black, the contingent of supports for the Korean side made themselves known.

There were plenty of supporters for the Korean hockey team.

Each time Korea were in possession, the sound of a horn and loud cheers ran through the turf.

The Black Sticks scored the first goal of the match in the first quarter.

The loud cheering from the Korean supporters seemed to give their team a push, and they scored a goal with 20 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Both teams played determinedly throughout the series.

The Black Sticks reasserted their dominance throughout the rest of the match, taking a 3-2 win.

Lani Johnstone (8) says she enjoyed the match and seeing her favourite player, Kane Russell, live in action.

Lani Johnstone (8) was excited for the games.

"It was very exciting watching the Black Sticks play."

The team went into the final match of the series confident, knowing they only needed a draw to secure their place at the Olympics.

In this game the Black Sticks dominated the match, keeping their defence high,

They scored their first goal in the second quarter, scoring two more goals.

The final score of the match was 3-0.