U32 Team departs

Game 1 - NZ vs Hong Kong

The tournament started off well with this very close match. Hong Kong scored first and startled us New Zealanders for awhile. Our first point was a penalty scored by Brendon Breeze, and the game was underway.

The points were scored evenly throughout the match, Hong Kong having the lead however. With around three minutes to go, Hong Kong was up by two. Luckily, Breeze and Gabrielle Podvoiskis landed us two quick goals leaving the match tied.

The match could not end with tied scores however and the golden goal play had to occur. Each team attacks and the first team to score wins. Hong Kong started off and luckily for New Zealand they missed and we got our chance, the play went back and forth for a few attacks until finally Nick Muir scored his fourth goal to win New Zealand our first in an international competition. The score was 10-9.

Scorers for NZ were:
Nick Muir 4
Brendon Breeze 3
Paul Toes 2
Gabrielle Podvoiskis 1

Game 2 - NZ vs Chinese Taipei

Before the game we knew this would be a fantastic learning curve, after watching this team beat the Australians the night before. CT scored first and just like the game the previous day we retaliated with a penalty shot – scored by Paul Toes, which tied the game 1 all.

However, CT then out played us with their superior skill and playing experience. We defended hard and made them work for their points, which was well done by our New Zealand squad, now down to one reserve due to Brendon Breeze becoming ill. We learned a lot from their tactics and were proud to have the opportunity to play against such a well-rounded team. The final score was 23-2

Scorers for NZ were:
Paul Toes 1
Nick Muir 1

Game 3 - New Zealand vs Australia

We were expecting a tough match against this team as they had only lost to CT by one goal and we were previously slaughtered by that squad the night before. Australia benched their top players giving us an opportunity to create a good match. We played an exceptional game, where everybody did their jobs, worked together and by half time the score was even: five all.

Our team morale went sky high and our confidence too and Australia began to get a tad worried. During the second half they were forced to bring on their starting line up. As New Zealand became fatigued and Australia brought on fresh legs, we began to feel the strength of our opposing players. However, we stuck in there, giving the Australians a fantastic run around leaving the match only losing 11-17.

Scorers for NZ were:
Nick Muir 3
Paul Toes 2
Benn Mathieson 2
Jeni Savage 2
Jay Erkkila 1
Loralee Pope 1

Semi final - NZ vs Australia (2 vs 3)

A very hard match for NZ, Australia came out very strong, fielding their top eight with hopes to slaughter the New Zealand side and prove they are worthy for the world champs.

New Zealand fought a fantastic fight for the first 20 minutes, showing no mercy and determined to keep the Australians from scoring too many against us. At this stage the score was 4-1, but eventually our New Zealand squad became tired and Australia scored a few more quick ones before the half time buzzer, leaving it 9-1.

New Zealand decided to come out strong after half time but soon began to panic after a few more quick points were scored against us. Australia teased NZ with the fresh legs they were able to bring on the court and we felt the fatigue set in. Australia out playing this squad fantastically, and NZ was able to see just how good this side really was. Final score 27-4

Scorers for NZ were:
Nick Muir 1
Paul Toes 1
Jay Erkkila 1
Leigh McLellan 1

3rd & 4th Final - NZ vs Hong Kong

This was another close match between the two similar strength teams. Hong Kong scored the first two goals but a nice running in shot from Loralee Pope got New Zealand back in the game. Just as the match to start the tournament, the scores were neck and neck.

By half-time New Zealand were down by two points and were determined to come back at them and fight. However, some good moves by Hong Kong and a few small mistakes from New Zealand landed us four points down and struggling to close up the margin.

A frantic time out was called close to the end of the match and New Zealand realised they had to give it their all to have any chance of wining the match. The last ten minutes played by New Zealand was the best korfball we had played all tournament, showing vast amounts of improvement and ability to play the game. With a couple of great calls from the referee going our way, penalising Hong Kong for time wasting, New Zealand was able to bring the score back to one point in it. However, it was too late for New Zealand to score one more point and the buzzer sounded to end the game leaving Hong Kong with third place winning 10-9.

Scorers for NZ were:
Rose Podvoiskis 2
Paul Toes 2
Brendon Breeze 1
Nick Muir 1
Jeni Savage 1
Jay Erkkila 1
Loralee Pope 1