FIH PRO LEAGUE-Great Britain finish off strongly against Black Sticks Men
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Great Britain have finished
strongly to see off the Black Sticks Men 3-0 in the second match of
the FIH Hockey Pro League 2020 between the sides. Great Britain
looked clinical early on and never relented throughout the
contest.
Great Britain came out with a new
game plan in the second match as they looked to retain possession
and look for the holes in the New Zealand screen. Vantage Black Sticks Men’s Coach Darren Smith commented “We were a bit tense today and couldn’t work our way into the contest. Great Britain looked like the more clinical side today. We were able to try some things during the match as we attempted to chase the match”. It was Great Britain who put themselves on the scoreboard first in the match after a Kiwi foot in the defensive circle resulted in a penalty corner. Great Britain captain Adam Dixon stepped up and put a powerful drag-flick into the back of the goal as the Brits would go into the first quarter break with a one-goal lead. Great Britain continued to apply the pressure on the New Zealand defence in the second quarter when after only a few minutes they had their second penalty corner of the match. The resulting drag-flick was deflected wide from Simon Child as the Kiwis looked to fight their way back into the contest. As the second quarter started to wind down, the New Zealand side begun to construct some scoring opportunities themselves. In the end, the Kiwis were unable to break through the Great Britain defence and found themselves trailing 1-0 at the halftime break. The Kiwis started the second half playing some confident hockey. Early in the quarter, they constructed several scoring opportunities, including a great spin from Simon Child that went into the side of the goal. Great Britain was looking resolute as they continued to frustrate the New Zealand attack. Richard Joyce continued to look in fine form in goal for the New Zealand Men as he was called upon to make several big saves in a row as he kept Great Britain at bay and stopped the match from getting away from the Kiwis. Midway through the final quarter, the Brits looked to have secured the win when Liam Ansells drag-flick managed to squeeze into the goal off the New Zealand defenders stick. Late in the fourth quarter, Great Britain earned their fourth penalty corner of the match and converted their third penalty corner goal. Adam Dixon had his second goal of the game off another powerful drag flick. New Zealand will now turn their attention to Spain who will travel down to Nga Puna Wai next week. The Spanish Men are coming off a strong performance against Argentina and will pose a strong challenge for the Black Sticks. Vantage Black Sticks Men 0 Great Britain 3 (Adam Dixon 14, 55 min, Liam Ansell 50 min) |
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