14 Apr 2012

Black Sticks knocked over by late Australian flurry

6:31 am on 14 April 2012

Australia has set the standard at the Four Nations hockey tournament in Auckland, after beating the Black Sticks Women 3-1 at the North Harbour Hockey Stadium last night.

The match was all square at 1-all with 13 minutes to go but a late flurry by the seventh world ranked Australians gave them their second victory of the tournament to go top of the points table.

Black Sticks Women's captain Kayla Sharland says her team, ranked sixth in the world, had made a strong start but couldn't quite finish off chances in the attacking circle.

Australia opened the scoring when Fiona Boyce pushed in a loose ball with two minutes to go in the first half. The home side struck straight back earning a penalty corner and with just over a minute left on the clock Katie Glynn slot a goal to even things up at the break.

The home side had numerous opportunities to take the lead in the second spell but failed to convert their chances.

With 13 minutes to go, Australia took the lead with a blistering penalty corner from Jodie Schulz, and Ashleigh Nelson knocked in a field goal in the 62nd minute to put the result beyond doubt.

The Black Sticks face the USA at 6.30 tomorrow.