Despite a valiant second half comeback the New Zealand men's hockey team have been defeated 4-3 by Pakistan in their opening game of the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia.
The Black Sticks started strongly but were punished for a flat patch midway through the first half with Pakistan scoring three unanswered goals in the space of 10 minutes.
Kane Russell finally got the Black Sticks back in the game, converting a penalty corner just minutes before the whistle to make the score 3-1 at halftime.
The Black Sticks continued their momentum after the break with Blair Tarrant (52nd minute) and Andy Hayward (56th minute) both scoring in quick succession to level the game at 3-all with 20 minutes still to play.
But just minutes later Muhammad Imran delivered his hat-trick goal to edge Pakistan back into the lead. It was a lead that New Zealand couldn't erase despite desperate efforts on attack.
Although the narrow loss will be hard to take, the young New Zealand side without several veteran players has plenty of positives to take away from the game.
Black Sticks head coach Colin Batch was pleased with the grit shown by his players to fight their way back into the game.
The Black Sticks next face Malaysia.
