- विज्ञापन -
Ranchi: New Zealand defeated Italy 3-1 in a playoff match to secure the fifth position in the Women’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers here on Friday, salvaging some pride after they failed to make it to the semifinals.
New Zealand were one of the pre-tournament favourites to bag one of the three qualifying spots for Paris 2024 available here. However, they lost to the United States and India and finished third in Pool B.
Rose Tynan (7th min), Olivia Merry (10th min) and Hannah Cotter (31st min) scored for New Zealand while Ivanna Pessina scored the lone goal for Italy in the 21st minute.
On Friday, New Zealand held the upper hand in the match as they dominated possession and launched several good attacks. However, they failed to capitalise on the attacks and missed a number of chances.
The Black Sticks earned penalty corners in the third and seventh minutes, the second one resulting in a goal. Tynan put them ahead in the seventh minute when she struck home a rebound off a penalty corner after the goalkeeper had blocked Olivia Merry’s first attempt.
Skipper Olivia doubled the advantage within three minutes when she capitalised on a swift attack to make it 2-0.
