GREAT BRITAIN TOO STRONG FOR BLACK STICKS MEN
There was despair in Christchurch on Friday evening as the Vantage Black Sticks men were soundly defeated by a precise Great British team six goals to one.
The first quarter was largely dominated by Great Britain with their positional organisation preventing New Zealand from gaining a foothold in the game.
They won three penalty corners in the opening stanza but were denied by Leon Hayward in goal.
The Black Sticks found some possession in the closing first quarter minutes and which enabled them to create some forays into their attacking third.
The second quarter was calamitous for the Kiwis as Great Britain opened the scoring halfway through when a beautiful injection from Will Calnan found the stick of Sam Ward just in front of the goalkeeper.
It was the opening of the floodgates as Great Britain won a penalty corner almost from the restart with Ward again the man putting the ball in the back of the net.
What followed was a goal from almost nothing as Stuart Rushmere pushed the ball past Hayward with Nicholas Bandurak poaching the goal to put the British up 3-0 within three minutes.
A formation change after the break didn’t do the hosts any good, shipping in another two goals with Bandurak and Ward both finding themselves unmarked in the circle to slot it past second half goalkeeper George Enersen.
The fourth quarter was a little more evenly contested with New Zealand finally winning their first penalty corner and scoring off of it with David Brydon recovering a botched injection to score brilliantly from the edge of the circle.
At the other end of the pitch, Brydon also conceded a penalty stroke for pushing a player to the ground which Zach Wallace stepped up to convert.
The Black Sticks men next play on Sunday when they face Australia in their final game of this leg of the FIH Pro League.
- April 29th, 2023 in
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