November 13, 2004 AAP via Yahoo! Australia & NZ News
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The Hockeyroos earned a shot at the bronze medal at the women's hockey Champions Trophy when they beat New Zealand 3-0 in their last round robin match.
Nicole Arrold's two goals and one to veteran Nikki Hudson gave Australia its second consecutive win after three losses to start the tournament in Rosario, Argentina.
But the Hockeyroos will have to produce a big turnaround to claim the bronze medal as they face hosts Argentina, who hammered them 5-1 four days ago.
Olympic champion Germany and silver medallist the Netherlands will meet in the final after both teams finished atop the table with 11 points, having played out a 1-1 draw.
Argentina finished one point behind those teams after beating tailender China 5-0, with Australia fourth on six points followed by New Zealand with two.
Hockeyroos coach David Bell was happy with the way his young side finished off their match against New Zealand after they led 1-0 following a dour first half.
"It was a pleasing second half," said Bell.
"I thought we still struggled in the first half to get our sequence of passes going.
"We now have a chance to play for the bronze medal which after three losses was only a slim chance.
"We got some confidence from the match and the other good thing was we were able to mix and match the younger players."
The Hockeyroos failed to find any fluency or penetration in the first half, with their only meaningful attack on New Zealand's net resulting in Arrold's penalty corner goal in the 18th minute.
Australia were sharper in the second half and extended their lead after 10 minutes with Hudson converting from a tight angle.
Arrold completed the scoring with a penalty stroke in the 63rd minute.
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