16 Aug 2008

Black Sticks still in it after win over the Belgians

12:52 pm on 16 August 2008

The New Zealand men's hockey team has beaten Belgium 4-2 in their latest match at the Beijing Olympics.

The New Zealanders led 3-0 at half time with field goals to Simon Child, who got two inside a minute, and Gareth Brooks.

Shea McAleese added the fourth with 10 minutes to play.

Child says they targeted this match as a must win and they started well. However being 3-0 up at half time meant they had to weather a Belgium comeback in the second half and he felt they responded well.

The result keeps the Black Sticks in contention for the semi-finals with two wins and a loss. They're now second in their pool with their next match against China on Sunday night.

In the other result in their pool, the co-favourites Germany suffered another setback when they were held to a 3-3 draw by feisty South Korea.

Germany need to win their remaining matches, including their final outing against the Black Sticks.