6 Mar 2013

Men's hockey team beaten

11:35 am on 6 March 2013

The New Zealand men's hockey team has been beaten 3-2 by hosts Malaysia in the second of two warm-up matches for the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in Ipoh.

The Black Sticks trailed 3-0 at half-time before Andy Hayward and newcomer Cory Bennett scored.

Head coach Colin Batch says it was disappointing that they didn't show the same intensity that got them through the previous night in a 3-2 win.

Batch says they'll learn valuable lessons from this game, ahead of the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament.

The Black Sticks play their first game of the Sultan Azlan Shah Tournament on Saturday against Pakistan.

They'll also face Malaysia, Korea, India and Australia.