OSAKA (Japan), MARCH 11: New Zealand came back from the brink to stun Belgium 5-4 in a thrilling Group A match of the Olympic hockey qualifying tournament, here on Friday.The Kiwis, trailing by three goals within the first 30 minutes and down 3-4 midway through the second half, fought back to score two match-winning goals in the last quarter.The win gave New Zealand four points from two matches - they drew 2-2 with Britain on Friday - and kept their hopes alive of finishing among the top six qualifiers for the Sydney Olympics in September.For Belgium, it was their second successive defeat after the 2-1 loss to South Korea.New Zealand's fightback started a minute before half-time when Brett Leaver converted a penalty corner to make it 1-3.In an exciting second half, the Kiwis made it 3-3 within the first nine minutes, before Belgium again took the lead in the 49th through a field goal by Joeri Beunen.Umesh Parag, playing with three stitches sustained in the previous match against Britain, made it 4-4 for the Kiwis in the 56th minute.Craig Reynolds then scored the match-winner eight minutes before the final whistle with a penalty corner - New Zealand's third conversion of six penalty corners in the match.New Zealand take on hosts Japan in their next match, while Belgium play Poland on Monday.
