U21 MEN FINISH POOL STAGE UNBEATEN INTO QUARTERS VS SPAIN
The New Zealand U21 Men have completed a strong pool campaign at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Tamil Nadu, going unbeaten across all three matches against China, Japan and Argentina qualifying for the quarter finals.
New Zealand will face Spain in the quarter final on December 5th 8.00pm NZT.
MATCH ONE: New Zealand opened the tournament with a fast and confident performance, beating China 5-3. Jonty Elmes led the scoring with a first-half hat-trick, supported by goals from Sam Lints and Owen Brown. After taking a 5-0 lead into halftime, New Zealand had to absorb pressure in the second spell as China fought back, but the group held firm to secure the first three points of the tournament.
MATCH TWO: Saw New Zealand take on traditional powerhouse Argentina, ending in a hard-earned 3-3 draw. Elmes delivered again, scoring his second hat-trick of the tournament. New Zealand showed strong character to take the lead in the third quarter, before Argentina equalised late in the period. The final quarter was intense, but neither side found a breakthrough.
MATCH THREE: The final pool match brought a tight battle with Japan, with New Zealand grinding out a 3-2 win. The game was suspended twice due to server weather conditionings, but the men found a way to claw back a victory from bring 1-2 down at half time.
Across the three games, New Zealand scored 11 goals and showed strong attacking intent, with multiple goal-scoring options and confident ball movement. Jonty Elmes is currently tied second for most goals scored at the tournament with a total of 7 goals.
Head Coach, Mike Delaney, believes the team has built a solid foundation heading into the knockout stages, “After an undefeated pool phase and a gutsy win in tough conditions against Japan, our belief in this group has never been stronger. The lads have shown huge desire and a genuine optimism about what we can achieve together. With standout performances across the park, we’re not just proud to be back in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009, we truly believe we belong here.”
Lead scorer, Jonty Elmes, was pleased with the growth in performance across the pool phase, “I’m extremely happy with the results during pool play. I think Mike has put in some awesome plans for success and we are executing them to the best of our ability. Everyone has stepped up tremendously each and every game and I am confident we are only going to get better from here.”
The U21 Men’s squad is in a strong position to push deeper into the tournament, with quarter finals scheduled on December 5th 8.00pm against Spain. Make sure you tune in on Watch.Hockey to see the quarter finals LIVE.
Match One vs China (5-3).
New Zealand Goal Scorers:
8’ Jonty Elmes – Penalty Stroke Goal
18’ Owen Brown – Field Goal
23’ Owen Brown – Field Goal
25’ Jonty Elmes – Field Goal
25’ Jonty Elmes – Field Goal
Match Two vs Argentina (3-3).
New Zealand Goal Scorers:
4’ Jonty Elmes – Penalty Corner Goal
32’ Jonty Elmes – Field Goal
39’ Jonty Elmes – Field Goal
Match Three vs Japan (3-2).
New Zealand Goal Scorers:
5’ Scott Illerbrun – Field Goal
38’ Owen Brown – Field Goal
41’ Jonty Elmes – Field Goal