9 Apr 2015

Black Sticks men go three from three

6:20 am on 9 April 2015

The New Zealand men's hockey team have continued their winning streak at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Canada.

However, the Black Sticks women fell 7-1 to Argentina in Gisborne, a day after being the South American side 1-0.

Black Sticks on the charge led by captain Simon Child

Black Sticks on the charge led by captain Simon Child Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Leading by one goal at half-time, the Black Sticks men sealed the result late in the third quarter by scoring three goals in just four minutes.

A double from man of the match Hugo Inglis and another strike from captain Simon Child took Canada out of contention in a matter of minutes.

The result means the Black Sticks solidify a strong spot with three wins from three tests with two round robin games still to play against Australia and Korea.

Head coach Colin Batch said the result has given them a great platform at the tournament that they need to capitalise on.

"We scouted Canada well and stuck to the game plan. It took us a little bit to really get into the game but we put a lot of pressure on them and overran them in the third quarter," he said.

"We've been working on our combinations a lot lately and the players certainly have a lot of trust in each other which showed in some of those goals."

"So far we've played ourselves into a really good position at the tournament, so we're in good shape going into the Australia game which we are all looking forward to."

The Black Sticks controlled the majority of possession in the first half but found little reward on the scoreboard for their dominance.

Four minutes out from half-time striker Blair Hilton found the breakthrough, taking the ball from left to right around the goalkeeper before drilling home off his reverse stick.

Coming out of the break the momentum stuck with the Black Sticks as they began to put the hammer down and run the Canadians around the turf.

Inglis sparked his side in the third quarter when he flicked home a goal after a penalty corner variation went out to Stephen Jenness on the right post before sending a ball across the face of goal to Inglis.

Captain Simon Child finished a great team goal in the 44th minute off the back off a George Muir run through midfield and quick pass into the circle from James Coughlan.

Inglis then scored his double less than a minute later after a scything run into the circle left him one on one with the keeper for a reverse flick into the back of the net.

Shay Neal capped off a dominant performance three minutes out from full-time with a solid finish on another phase of well worked team play.

The Black Sticks now face another tough challenge tonight against trans-Tasman rivals Australia.

The match begins at 10pm.