Belarus have got off to a winning start in their Olympic campaign with a 1-0 win over New Zealand in Group C.
New Zealand looked the better team in the opening stages, with Chris Wood testing Aleksandr Gutor a couple of times in the first 20 minutes.
Artem Solovei looked to respond for Belarus, and had a good chance to do so when he made his way into the New Zealand box, only to send his effort wide of Tim Payne's goal.
The unfancied Belarus side began to take control of the game, and deservedly went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Dmitry Baga slotted the ball past Payne.
New Zealand began to push on for an equaliser during the second half, with the knowledge that arguably their two hardest games, against Brazil and Egypt, were still ahead of them.
However, try as they might, New Zealand couldn't find a way through and now face an uphill battle to qualify for the knock-out stages.
Next up for New Zealand is Egypt, while Belarus face Brazil.
Barney Corkhill
