29 Nov 2011

Black Sticks beat Great Britain in warmup match

6:27 am on 29 November 2011

The New Zealand men's hockey team has beaten Great Britain 3-1 in a warmup match to the Champions Trophy which starts on the North Shore this weekend.

It was 1-all at half time before Matt L'Hullier and then Nick Wilson scored his second to seal the match.

While the result was pleasing, there will be concerns over the number of turnovers from the Black Sticks as well as a knee injury suffered by key midfielder Steve Edwards.

New captain Dean Couzins, who saved an early British penalty corner right on the line, said it was good to get back into the rhythm of international hockey and the speed of the game.

He admitted there was some rustiness that they needed to shake off.

The Black Sticks open the Champions Trophy, for the top 8 teams in the world, on Saturday, but have another warmup match against Spain tomorrow.