12 Oct 2010

Black Sticks men lose semi to Australia

11:57 pm on 12 October 2010

The New Zealand men's hockey team have lost their Commonwealth Games semi-final 6-2 to the gold medal favourites Australia.

Both sides put on a good defensive battle for much of the first half, before Australia scored the first goal about 10 minutes before the break.

New Zealand looked to ease off in the heat, and Australia scored twice more to take a 3-nil lead into half-time.

Australia were the first to score in the second half, but New Zealand's Blair Hilton brought one back for the underdogs, and captain Phil Burrows scored another to make it 4-2 and lay the foundation for a comeback.

But two late goals to Australia sealed the win for the world number ones, who'll play either England or India for the gold medal.

New Zealand will play the losers of that match for the bronze on Thursday.