Black Sticks denied by Germany

Germany were given a very tough ride by the Black Sticks in the opening match of the Rabo FIH Champions Trophy but emerged as winners thanks to a solitary first half penalty corner strike from Julia Müller.  New Zealand dominated long periods of the first half, but Müller’s clinical shot proved to be too good for outstanding goalkeeper Bianca Russell. Although lucky to go into half time with the advantage, Germany were excellent in the second half and showed that they will be a tough team to beat here at Amstelveen’s Wagener Stadium in The Netherlands.

Despite their lesser world ranking, New Zealand were by far the better team in the first half, dominating possession and rarely letting Germany out of their own half. The Black Sticks has some decent chances, with Clarissa Eshuis’s penalty corner flick forcing a decent save from Germany keeper Barbara Vogel.

When Vogel was eventually beaten she was rescued by her defensive team mates, with Julia Karwatzky and Christina Schütze both making excellent blocks on the line within seconds of each other to deny New Zealand. It was a seriously impressive start for the Black Sticks, who applied relentless pressure of the Germany defence.

However, possession and chances are nothing without goals, and Germany showed their ruthlessness when they scored with their only clear-cut goal-scoring opportunity of the first half. New Zealand conceded a penalty corner in the 28^th minute which, fittingly, was drilled home by Germany number 28 Julia Müller.

New Zealand were unlucky to go into half team trailing, but faced a vastly improved Germany team in the second half and were thankful to goalkeeper Bianca Russell who kept them in the game with a string of top class saves. Russell came to her side’s rescue making saves from Natascha Keller as well as a double block from a penalty corner situation.

The Black Sticks rallied towards the end of the game and eventually won a penalty corner with three minutes remaining. However, Germany blocked out the danger and claimed all three points in their Champions Trophy opener.  

Match Review  3. Germany vs New Zealand 1-0 - Rabo FIH Champions Trophy 2011  

> Germany are now unbeaten in 10 successive matches against New Zealand in Champions Trophy, World Cup and Olympic competition. They have won the last five.
> Julia Müller scored the winning goal for Germany in the 28th minute by converting a penalty corner. It was her 3rd Champions Trophy goal in 25 CT matches.
> New Zealand failed to score from 12 goal attempts, 9 of which were on target.
> New Zealand failed to convert any of their 3 penalty corners awarded.
> Germany converted 1 of 4 penalty corners awarded.
> Germany scored once from 11 goal attempts, 8 of which were on target.

Head-to-Heads
> Germany are unbeaten in 9 successive matches against New Zealand in Champions Trophy, World Cup and Olympic competition.
> Germany have won their last four world level encounters with New Zealand: 3-0 at 2006 CT, 2-1 at 2008 Olympics, 5-2 at 2010 CT and 2-0 at 2010 World Cup, outscoring the Kiwi’s 15-3.
> New Zealand last avoided defeat against Germany at a major world level event at the 2004 Champions Trophy in Rosario, drawing 2-2.
> New Zealand’s sole win over Germany in 10 encounters at major world level events was their 4-1 win in the Final 7-8 at the 1990 World Cup.
> Earlier this month, New Zealand beat Germany 4-3, coming back from 3-1 down, in their first of two test matches in Berlin. Their second test match vs Germany ended 3-3.
 
Germany
> In 2006, Germany won their sole Champions Trophy title in Amstelveen, beating China in the final.
> Germany need to score four times to reach 100 goals in Champions Trophy competition.
> This is Natascha Keller’s 11th Champions Trophy participation, the most by a German woman. She exceeds Nadine Ernsting-Krienke, who made 10 CT appearances (1991-2007).  
> Natascha Keller was selected for the 2010 FIH Women’s All Star Team.
> Keller is on a career total of 14 field goals in Champions Trophy competition. Only Nadine Ernsting-Krienke (GER, 19 FG), Jackie Pereira (AUS, 16 FG) and Katrina Powell (AUS, 15 FG) have scored more CT goals from open play.
> Keller has scored most goals for Germany against New Zealand in world level events; 4 goals, all in Champions Trophy competition.
> Only Fatima Moreira de Melo (NED, 5) has scored more CT goals against NZL than Natascha Keller (4).
 
New Zealand
> The New Zealand squad have an average age of 24 years and 70 days, which makes them the youngest team at the 2011 Champions Trophy.
> The players in the current New Zealand squad have scored a total of 8 Champions Trophy goals. Germany’s Natascha Keller has scored 2.5 times as many CT goals (18).
> In terms of international experience New Zealand are the fifth most capped squad at the 2011 CT. Only the Australian, Korean and Dutch squads are less experienced.
> Kayla Sharland was selected for the 2010 FIH Women’s All Star Team.
> Emily Naylor has 17 CT matches under her belt, the most of all players in the NZL squad.
> New Zealand have always finishes fifth (4 times) or sixth (4 times) in eight previous CT appearances.
 
Most goals scored against New Zealand - Champions Trophy

Goals	Player	Team	FG	PC	PS
5	Fatima Moreira de Melo	NED	2	3
4	Alejandra Gulla	ARG	3	1
4	Natascha Keller	GER	3		1
4	Lim Kye-Sook	KOR	3		1
4	Ma Yibo	CHN		4
4	Ageeth Boomgaardt	NED		3	1