| Sports |
Black Sticks it all to the
Kookaburras
BRISBANE: A record 39-0 win by
New Zealand has hardly impressed Kookaburras coach Barry Dancer
before their eagerly awaited Olympic men’s hockey qualification
clash.
The mind games began in earnest when New Zealand coach Shane
McLeod boasted his Black Sticks destroyed Papua New Guinea 39-0
in their Oceania Cup clash on Wednesday night - 24 hours after
Australia’s 35-0 defeat of PNG - to send the Kookaburras “a
message”.
Oceania Cup officials believe the 39-0 win is a world record.
But Dancer said yesterday the result was “not significant” and
even hinted that Australia would keep a little in reserve
against New Zealand at Buderim tonight before Sunday’s final.
Dancer also questioned why world No.9 New Zealand would thrash
PNG just to prove a point to the reigning Olympic champions,
saying it was hardly beneficial for the developing nation.
The stakes are high for the fierce trans-Tasman rivals at the
Oceania Cup with only the winner of Sunday’s final qualifying
for Beijing.
The loser must win one of three remaining qualifying tournaments
in early 2008 to book a Beijing flight.
Dancer said New Zealand’s record win over PNG was no surprise.
“I don’t think beating our score is that relevant or significant
to be honest - I was expecting it,” he said.
“It was always going to be a one-sided affair.
“I saw they were keen to beat our scoreline from the night
before. It was pretty evident the way they played.
“They were doing things like running back quickly after scoring
goals.”
But Dancer did not see the point of thrashing the likes of PNG.
“It’s not something I would want to do. I wouldn’t set out for
that target if New Zealand had beaten Papua New Guinea 35-0 the
night before but that is their choice,” he said.
“I think the scoreline is not beneficial for PNG. The experience
of playing the match is something they would aspire to but no
one wants to be beaten by that scoreline, whatever the
competition.
“The result underlines that the competition structure needs to
be looked at.”
But Dancer did admit New Zealand’s record win would give their
round robin game tonight “an edge”.
“It’s a further indicator that they will be tough opposition,”
he said.
“It will be a strong, physical but a tight encounter.
“There’s mutual respect, certainly we have a healthy respect for
them.
“We’ve had some good scorelines against New Zealand in critical
games over the years and we’d like to continue that but we don’t
underestimate the difficulty they will provide us.”
And in a further teaser, Dancer said a full strength Kookaburras
may not reveal their full hand tomorrow night in order to keep
the Kiwis guessing in Sunday’s final.
“For us it will be like playing a final (tomorrow night), maybe
a few things we will hold back,” he said. – AAP
 
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