Black Sticks Women eyeing at Champions Trophy medal: Hockey News
The Black Sticks Women are quite optimistic to get a medal in the upcoming Champions Trophy scheduled to be held on June 26 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Women’s hockey team of New Zealand set semi-final of the eight-nation event as their main target.
An 18-member women squad of the Black Sticks will leave for Europe to partake in the nine-day mega event. The women’s hockey team of New Zealand, which is standing at the 7th position in the eight teams, will commence their preparatory games in Amsterdam.
Despite the fact they hold the second place in the bottom-line, the trainer of the team is quite confident about the fixtures.
Mark Hager, the coach of the Black Sticks women’s hockey team speaking to the media said that they wanted to win a first ever title in the mega tournament. He stated, "Top six would be a good result for us, but one of our aims is to the first New Zealand women's team to win a medal at the Champions Trophy. We know it's going to be a challenging task, but it's something we're really looking forward to."
Top two teams will get a berth in the semi-final stage after the Pool matches. The New Zealand’s women are featured with Germany (third ranked), Australia (sixth ranked) and the host Netherlands (second ranked).
After overcoming World Champions Argentina by a single goal, 2-1 in a Test match held at Auckland in March 2011, the Black Sticks women are flying on a high verge. Mark Hager tested the two custodians during the Argentina visit namely, Sally Rutherford and Bianca Russell. However, he has not finalised the final name for goal-keeping in the forthcoming tournament. It is vital to mention here that Beth Jurgeleit after earning 105 caps has retired from the international hockey.
Hager was of the opinion that the two custodians were playing really well and in addition both are good mates. The friendship rivalry between the two players will be wonderful for the squad, he added.
Hager added, “If we don't keep playing them, we tend to fear them rather than saying, 'we can match it with you'."
Commenting on the selected line-up, the trainer was of the opinion that some four players were in the European tour and he didn’t meet them for last four months. These players include Anita Punt, Lucy Talbot, Krystal Forgesson and Emily Naylor.
Four other best names are Kayla Sharland, Stacey Michelsen, Katie Glynn and Clarissa Eshuis, who donned the colours in the just-concluded Australian Hockey League (AHL). It is vital to mention here that they all are belonged to the title-winner, OAMPS Southern Suns.
The Black Sticks will play seven games in preparation of the eight-nation competition that will assist the coach to finalise the line-up for the Champions Trophy.
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