Black Sticks need to find ways to medal
THE Black Sticks must start delivering at the crunch stage of major tournaments after some underwhelming efforts this year.
Too often in 2014, the New Zealand men’s and women’s sides were left with disconsolate looks on their faces, having been eliminated in knockout playoff games.
Nowhere was this better evidenced than the Commonwealth Games.
Neither team lived up to its potential, with the Black Sticks’ women settling for bronze after losing their earlier semifinal clash to England on penalties.
The men returned home empty handed, blowing a 2-0 lead in their semifinal against India. They then suffered the heartache of a loss to England on penalties in the bronze medal clash.
At June’s World Cup, in The Hague, the Black Sticks’ women– ranked fourth in the world – would have been disappointed in finishing fifth. The men failed to meet key performance indicators, ending up seventh of 12 teams.
Penalty shootouts continue to plague the Black women.
Their young side, minus several key players, performed admirably at the year-ending Champions Trophy in Argentina.
New Zealand were within touching distance of making their first Champions Trophy final, but were bundled out on penalties against Australia.
Anita Punt was a standout for the Black Sticks during their hectic 46-game season.
Sticks’
She has developed into a deadly penalty corner exponent and climbed to third on New Zealand’s all-time women’s goal scoring list [69 goals].
The Black Sticks’ men started the year in style, surprising at the World League final tournament in Delhi. They made it through to the gold medal game, but were outclassed by the Netherlands 7-2. New Zealand undid that good work at the second-tier Champions Challenge, finishing fifth after a costly quarterfinal loss to Malaysia on penalties.
Defender Emily Naylor overtook Suzie Muirhead (238 tests) as the most capped women’s player in New Zealand history. Experienced striker Krystal Forgesson and goalkeeper Bianca Russell retired in September.
After 13 years in the side and 318 caps, captain Dean Couzins– the second most capped men’s player – also decided to hang up the stick.
Star midfielder Kayla Whitelock announced in October she was taking a year off due to pregnancy. She hopes to be back for the lead-in to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Gemma Flynn and Anita Punt cut dejected figures after their Commonwealth Games semifinal loss on penalties to England.