Black Sticks take lone goalie risk for Games
Goalkeeping strategy will boost 16-man squad, Jonathan Millmow reports.
The Black Sticks will gamble on having one goalkeeper at the London Olympics to create room for another field player.
Coach Shane Mcleod names his Olympic lineup next month, but confirmed yesterday Wellington’s Kyle Pontifex would be the only specialist goalie in his final 16.
Pontifex is the unrivalled No 1 in the country, so a form dip would still have him ahead of the pack, but the lack of specialised injury cover could leave the coach exposed.
Mcleod said he was prepared to run that risk because of the upside and he would rely on midfielder Shea Mcaleese to cover if Pontifex went down.
‘‘I’ve not done it before but it gives us more scope to take field players,’’ Mcleod said.
‘‘Shea has been doing a bit of work. He can keep, at a pinch.
‘‘He’ll never make the Olympic XI as a goalkeeper, but he is handy.’’
Mcleod’s experiment is bad news for Midlands’ Stephen Graham, the No 2 keeper for the Champions Trophy in Auckland in December.
Pontifex, 32, has amassed 140 caps and London will be his third Olympics. He was largely backup to Paul Woolford at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Mcleod starts his one goalkeeper experiment in a fortnight, when the Black Sticks compete in the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, May 24-June 3.
The other teams competing are Great Britain (world ranking of 4), Pakistan (8) , Korea (6) , Argentina (9), India (10) and Malaysia (13).
The Black Sticks are ranked at seven, theoretically making them third seeds at a roundrobin tournament where New Zealand has never made the final.
‘‘It looks quite a well-balanced tournament, so any team that hits form will go well,’’ Mcleod said. ‘‘Our ambition is to solidify our Olympic selection and I’d love us to play in that final match because it will be a good rehearsal of a game of consequence. Third is the best by New Zealand. ‘‘I think we can better that.’’ New Zealand is not quite at full strength. Defender Steve Edwards is resting a groin injury and Blair Hopping has been granted personal leave after the recent birth of his son.
Ben Collier (Central), Nick Haig (Canterbury), Arun Panchia (Auckland) and Richard Petherick (Midlands) return to the fray after missing selection for the Champions Trophy. The team will be captained by Dean Couzins, one of 10 players to have more than 100 caps.
The least capped are the Wellington pair of Stephen Jenness and Matt L’huillier, with a mere 43 and 24 tests, respectively.
After the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Mcleod will name an 18-strong Olympic squad, which will play a test series in Australia in June and then embark on an European tour in July. Then the squad will be trimmed to 16 for the Olympics.