Butterworth: Team New Zealand win clearly cost us victory

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SRNZPA: Alinghi Tactician Brad Butterworth blamed Team New Zealand's first place finish in this morning's America's Cup race for his team's failure to notch win number two. Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker manoeuvred the black boat in front in the final upwind leg and clung on to level the series 1-1. "Initial analysis tells us when they got in front and finished ahead of us, that was the boat race." said Alinghi tactician Butterworth, whose personal record of 16 consecutive America's cup wins was broken with this morning's defeat. "The brains trust is pretty sharp at picking these things up."

Butterworth admitted years of experience in the America's Cup pressure cooker counts for little when the boat finishes in second place. "Our tactics only pay off when we cross the line first. It's plain sailing from there. But if you get into a situation where they're ahead at the end and get the gun... that makes it very tough indeed for us to record a win. We spend hours and hours on the little things, they can be the difference between winning and losing. Traditionally, finishing order has been a key strength of Alinghi's but we'll have to look at it tonight, alright."

However, the American's Cup veteran remained stoic, saying "We'll go back to base, haul the boat out of the water, and look at the tape to see what's in the way of victory. The bit I'll focus on where NZL92 crosses the line first, that seems crucial."

TVNZ commentator Pete Montgomery agreed with Butterworth's assessment. "Traditionally, In A Dogfight Like This There Can Be Only One Victor That Enjoys The Spoils. For The Folks At Home, Usually That's The Magnificent Boat That Finishes First" said Montgomery before being lead away for a thorough hose down before race three.