Surprise loss in men’s hockey

Press, 26 July 1984, Page 40

Surprise loss in men’s hockey

NZPA Los Angeles The New Zealand men’s hockey team crashed to a 4-0 defeat by the littlefancied Malaysian side at the Olympic hockey stadium yesterday. Although the New Zealand coach, Brian Maunsell, had said before the game its prime purpose was familiarisation with the artificial surface, afterwards he said a win would have been preferable to such a walloping. “Certainly it will stop any complacency that might have eventuated,” he said. In Vancouver, the New Zealand team treated its Olympic build-up matches

against Canada and the United States as full international matches, but in Los Angeles had planned only an informal game against Malaysia with 20 minutes each half. But the Malaysians, lowly ranked in the Olympic tournament, asked the New Zealanders before the start if they would go the full 70 minutes. “The Malaysians wanted the extra time and played it more as a full-scale game than perhaps we approached it,” Maunsell said. “We didn’t play anywhere near as well as we have in the last two weeks, but I’pj not making any excuses at

all.” The penalty corner count of nine to four in Malaysia’s favour reflected the penetration of each team’s attacks. © New Zealand’s group of injured athletes appears to be on the mend. Peter O’Donoghue,, the

1500 m runner suffering from a sore left leg, had a good run yesterday i“gThe team doctors are giving O'Donoghue’s leg 48hours to show improvement before deciding if another X-ray or bone scan is necessary to determine what is causing the soreness. The javelin thrower, Mike O’Rourke, who has back injury, was now training well although refraining ’ from rotational movements. The wrestler Graeme Hawkins, who had torn cartilage removed from a knee, was still on crutches but exercising in the swimming pool and weightroom doing

body work. The cyclist, Graeme Miller, also with back injury, was now in full training again and riding each day. 0 New Zealand’s incoming Minister of State, Frank O’Flynn, is being sent to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The New Zealand team manager, Sir Ron Scott, said he had been asked to prepare a draft itinerary for Mr O’Flynn, who is expected to arrive at the week-end. He will take up the formal games accreditation originally intended for Sir Robert Muldoon.