Saving Grace: Keeper’s heroics seal World Cup spot

Grace O’Hanlon glanced down at her arm, bent shockingly into the form of a Z, and thought, “Properly, this sucks”.

That second final October was one other merciless blow in what had already been one of many hardest years of the Black Sticks goalkeeper’s lengthy, storied hockey profession — when the game she liked appeared to offer again solely frustration and ache.

She’d needed to watch the Paris Olympics from the alternative aspect of the world when the Black Sticks didn’t qualify, leaving her gutted. “I felt that failure actually deeply,” the 33-year-old says. “It was extraordinarily difficult, and I struggled to come back again.”

Then got here the damaged arm within the first coaching for the Premier Hockey League season. “It was horrible,” O’Hanlon remembers. “I believed, ‘I’m too outdated to have a damaged arm’. I regarded like a schoolkid with my arm in a solid. It made me so depressing – that one thing you’re keen on a lot can harm you.

“Being away from hockey made me much more heartbroken. Nevertheless it additionally made me realise the moments that carry you pleasure, those you play for, are simply so price it.”

Lower than a yr on from that shattering setback, O’Hanlon has had a kind of actual moments of pleasure. In Darwin final week, she starred within the goalmouth, repelling wave after wave of Australian assault to assist New Zealand safe a 2-1 Oceania Cup victory and direct entry into subsequent yr’s World Cup.

Twice she walked away with Participant of the Match – saving 25 photographs on aim throughout three exams – regardless that she was quietly nursing a freshly-torn hamstring.

“I’m simply feeling so elated. It’s such an exquisite feeling – as a crew and personally – you can’t get wherever else on the earth,” says O’Hanlon, again house within the Auckland suburb of Onehunga.

Her match-winning saves within the opening take a look at, adopted by an important block within the sudden-death penalty shoot-out to resolve the collection, solely cemented her status as one of the athletic goalkeepers in world hockey.

“Don’t get me incorrect, I used to be very happy with how I carried out,” she says. “However there’s a lot luck concerned in hockey. Typically the chips fall in your favour, and eventually we had been in a collection the place a number of issues began to come back our method.”

But issues didn’t all go O’Hanlon’s method. Six days earlier than the primary recreation towards the Hockeyroos, essentially the most skilled Black Stick within the aspect pinged her hamstring, after being a little bit “overzealous” in coaching.

“So I didn’t practice the entire method as much as that recreation – I couldn’t stroll for the primary couple of days – and it took ages to get a scan,” she says.

“So it was a bit annoying. We weighed up the chance and reward – and we selected to take the chance, as a result of if we certified for the World Cup, I’d have heaps of day off for the remainder of the yr to fix.

“I used to be all strapped up, and I wasn’t at my most assured going into it, however I performed to the event as a result of we needed to win that one.”

Captain Olivia Shannon’s reverse-stick rocket within the forty ninth minute sealed the 1-0 victory, nevertheless it was O’Hanlon’s fearless blocking of a relentless Australian assault that really stood out.

“A little bit of adrenalin helped,” she laughs. “I knew there could be some ache, however I might do it once more 1,000,000 occasions over.

“I don’t know in case you’ve seen the images, however I used to be simply so fizzed after that recreation, it was like we’d gained the World Cup. To maintain a clear sheet towards the Australians – it was simply large reduction.”

However O’Hanlon doesn’t need all of the credit score for protecting the world No.5 Hockeyroos scoreless. She praises the Black Sticks defence in entrance of her for making her job less complicated.

“Full credit score to our women, there have been some powerful match-ups on the market. We’d have a 19-year-old with 10 caps marking a 150-game veteran who’s been to 3 Olympics. So to maintain them to zero targets was wildly spectacular,” she says.

“We’ve created a man-to-man sort of defence, which isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. In worldwide hockey, most groups are doing zonal marking.”

As anticipated, the Hockeyroos got here out preventing within the second take a look at, and eventually pierced the Black Sticks defence with a penalty nook deflection, profitable 1-0. “We survived the second recreation,” says O’Hanlon, who was nonetheless sturdy in entrance of aim, together with younger defender Riana Pho.

The decider got here right down to an exhilarating penalty shoot-out, after Jessie Anderson’s nook deflection levelled the scores with 5 minutes left on the clock. The Black Sticks performed out the match content material with a draw – assured they may win the shootout. O’Hanlon saved Australia’s first try by Alice Arnott, and the Black Sticks transformed all 5 of theirs (with Shannon scoring two vital strokes).

“Since we didn’t qualify for Paris, we’ve been struggling a bit with our confidence. However these women had been like ‘We’re going to again ourselves to beat the most effective groups on the earth in a sudden-death shoot-out for World Cup qualification’,” she says.

“Each single considered one of our women bought up and did the job instantly – there was no stuffing round. They knew the [Australian keeper] Aleisha Energy. And since we practise [penalty shoot-outs] endlessly – which is horrible at coaching for me – we had been rather well ready for that second.”

O’Hanlon first caught the attention of Kiwi hockey followers within the 2018 Commonwealth Video games semifinal, when she was known as off the bench to avoid wasting 4 of England’s 5 penalty shoot-out makes an attempt, sending the Black Sticks into the ultimate towards Australia – and on to win gold.

Born in Queensland, O’Hanlon crossed the Tasman in 2016 to hitch the Black Sticks – her dad, Greg, was born in west Auckland – after realising there was no clear path previous the extra senior goalkeepers within the Hockeyroos.

The Tokyo Olympian has now performed over 100 caps for the Black Sticks – “120-ish I feel” – and is the one centurion within the present squad.

“One of many Australian spectators mentioned to me after we completed, they mentioned, ‘Oh, you guys have been out within the wilderness for a few years, haven’t you? It’s good to see you again’. And that’s type of the way it’s felt,” she says.

Again in 2023, Hockey NZ determined to withdraw the Black Sticks from the Professional League – the annual world league for the highest nations – to deal with qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Since lacking out on Paris, their authorities funding was slashed by $1.4m.

In March, the Black Sticks gained the Nation’s Cup in Chile – mechanically qualifying for the Professional League in December – however once more turning down their spot due to the costly, travel-heavy format of the league. However the crew might want to play high opposition earlier than the World Cup, in Belgium and the Netherlands, subsequent August. (The Black Sticks males had already certified earlier than the Oceania Cup, which they misplaced 3-0).

“We’ve been attempting to get inventive and work with different nations who’re in the identical boat, like the USA and India,” says O’Hanlon. “However the Professional League is finally the place you get to play the highest quality groups persistently by way of the yr. For us to play the worldwide recreation, we’d like extra time collectively and extra time on the pitch with actually high-class opposition.”

Beneath head coach Phil Burroughs, the crew are constructing momentum and a “phenomenal tradition”, O’Hanlon says.  

“We’re now coaching all around the nation in our satellite tv for pc hubs, so extra individuals really feel concerned and related to the crew, and a part of the journey. I feel that’s tremendous vital… you don’t get sick of one another since you’re not residing in one another’s pockets,” she says.

“We’ve simplified our recreation plan to be so clear so anybody who walks into this crew from our broader squad of 30 to 35 women is aware of precisely what is anticipated of them. Our squad is comparatively younger and inexperienced however with heaps of expertise and promise – we simply want extra publicity on the worldwide stage.”

And so long as her physique holds collectively, she intends to maintain taking part in on the highest degree, figuring out she has expertise and management – and excessive expectations – to carry to the younger gamers within the squad.

“I like hockey a lot, and never simply hockey on the pitch. It’s each single minute. It’s 9.30pm coaching within the rain on the dirtiest Monday night time after you’ve simply labored all day,” says O’Hanlon, who works as a sustainable funding analyst for Milford Asset Administration.

“You’re there with these like-minded individuals, and also you undergo horrible struggles and unbelievable triumphs, and also you try this collectively.

“I’ve a lot ardour for our crew, and the sensation within the group proper now’s nice, and profitable helps. We nonetheless have miles to go, however not less than we are able to try this now with the arrogance we’re going to be on the World Cup.”