Olympic Champion Beats N.Z.

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30575, 19 October 1964, Page 16

Olympic Champion Beats N.Z.

(Special Crspdt. N.Z.P.A.) TOKYO, October 18. Pakistan, the defending Olympic hockey champion, beat New Zealand, 2-0, in a fastmoving game played this afternoon in heavy rain. The New Zealanders have won only one game in the Olympic tournament, the first against Britain, but this is the first loss by a margin greater than one goal. The team’s last match will be against Rhodesia tomorrow. Today’s game was not at all

one-sided but it was the superb team-work of the Pakistanis that gave them their advantage. Both teams played an attractive, short-passing game and the stick-iyork was remarkably sure under the conditions. Pakistan went to a 1-0 lead in the first half, with a goal by the full-hack, Munir Ahmad, from a long corner. New : Zealand lost a great chance to > equalise when P. Bygrave, 1 playing in his old position of > left-wing, where he appeared ■ in the last Olympics at Rome, t followed up a brilliant run t with a well-placed centre. But the ball lay neglected [ in front of the goal, with

neither side getting to it, for several seconds before Pakistan cleared. There were not to be any more chances like that against a team as well co-ordinated as Pakistan. New Zealand conceded its second goal when the ball was unluckily deflected off Bygrave from a shot by Muhamad Afzal. The New Zealand defence, with J. Cullen in outstanding form at centre-half, and both baeks, A. Patterson and I. Kerr, tackling with tremendous determination, gave the Pakistani forward line a hard time. The experiment of shifting Bygrave to the wing, Byers to

* inside-left and bringing in G. ■ Judge at centre-forward t failed to produce any goals, s but it gave the forward line I a sharper look. Pakistan took 21 players to . Tokyo although it was allowed to enter only 18 in the Olympic tournament. This has enabled them to stage regular practice games among themselves and they have been showing the benefit of them with an unbeaten record to date. Their squad on the sideline today made New Zealand's complement of only three reserves look very small. With only 14 players here, New ; Zealand has the smallest hoci key squad at the games.