Hockey: Three wins for Black Sticks

Shane McLeod.
Shane McLeod.
The Black Sticks claimed a third consecutive win at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup yesterday, beating Pakistan 3-1 in Ipoh, Malaysia.

The victory puts New Zealand well clear at the top of the table as the only team with three victories.

The Black Sticks made a cracking start, with a Ryan Archibald field goal and an Andy Hayward penalty corner putting the Kiwis 2-0 up after just 11 minutes. They held on to the 2-0 lead through to the break and extended it to 3-0 early in the second spell when Nick Wilson put away a penalty corner rebound.

Pakistan responded with a goal in the 44th minute and put the Black Sticks under some immense pressure in the last 20 minutes.

But some resolute defence, in particular from goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex, kept Pakistan scoreless for the rest of the match.

Hayward was named player of the match.

Black Sticks coach Shane McLeod said he was pleased with the team's work rate and felt that many of the errors late in the match were due to fatigue in the humid conditions.

The Black Sticks now have the bye and a rest day before meeting the tournament's top seed, Great Britain, tomorrow night (NZ time). The break will give Ben Collier time to recover from a hit to the face which required stitches.

 

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