FIH PRO LEAGUE-Great Britain Women stun Vantage Black Sticks Women
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Great Britain has made the most of their opportunities as they have gone on to take a 3-0 win over the Vantage Black Sticks. Great Britain scored early and never relented throughout the contest. New Zealand Captain Stacey Michelsen said “We are playing some good patches of hockey, at the moment we are very inconsistent. We started the first quarter well; however, we need to ensure that we continue that throughout the match”. The Vantage Black Sticks Women were forced to absorb some early pressure from the Great Britain attack, New Zealand built their way into the first quarter and started to construct some fantastic scoring opportunities. Great Britain got themselves on the scoreboard first when an outstanding ball into the circle found an unmarked Tessa Howard on the back post for an easy deflection into the New Zealand goal. New Zealand came out strong to start the second quarter as they were pressing hard to find the equaliser goal, despite several attacking opportunities a resolute Great Britain defence continued to stifle the Black Sticks attack. Great Britain was able to extend their lead midway through the second quarter when a tough challenge by a Black Sticks defender resulted in a penalty stroke. Charlotte Watson calmly stepped up and pinged the flick into the top of the New Zealand goal. With only moments to go in the first half, the Black Sticks earned themselves a penalty corner. The penalty corner shot took a deflection on its way through to the goal; unfortunately for the New Zealand side, the deflection went agonisingly over the crossbar. Great Britain would go into the half time sheds in a commanding position as they would take a 2-0 lead over the Kiwis. Great Britain continued to build well as the second half started, the Kiwis were struggling to clear their defensive line, and the Great Britain side was earned themselves several penalty corners. New Zealand managed to stop the British threat; however, as time was winding down, they needed goals to work their way back into the contest. Midway through the final quarter Great Britain scored their third goal of the contest when a well-placed crash ball found a diving Shona McCallin who deflected a rocket past Black Sticks goalkeeper Georgia Barnett. The Vantage Black Sticks, in the end, ran out of time and were unable to battle their way back into the contest. Both sides will return to the turf tomorrow at 5:40 pm where the Kiwis will be looking to turn the tables on the Great Britain side. Vantage Black Sticks Women 0 Great Britain 3 (Tessa Howard 9 min, Charlotte Watson 21 min, Shona McCallin 50 min) |
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