Double dose of defeat for Kiwis

The Black Sticks women’s hockey team fell short in the dying stages of a tough battle against Argentina in Munich, Germany, yesterday.

A late goal from Argentina’s Noel Barrionuevo through a penalty stroke, sealed victory a 3-2 victory for the third ranked team in the world.

The South American side went up 1-0 after a Martina Cavallero penalty corner in the third minute.

Always a contrast in styles when these two teams play, the match was quick and entertaining with the half time score remaining at 1-0.

It took the Black Sticks nine minutes into the second half to break the Argentinians down.

A Madi Doar deflected goal from an Olivia Merry slap shot penalty corner got New Zealand on the board.

Late in the third quarter, Anita McLaren was green carded by the referee, only to come back on a minute into the fourth and score her 104th goal in the black singlet.

That lead was short lived with Argentina striking back with a Delfina Merino field goal to tie the match up at 2 a-piece.

Assistant coach Sean Dancer said his side could have handled the fast pace of the match better, as it troubled his defence through the match.

‘‘While Argentina dominated good portions of the game with their pace and skill, we did have periods of dominance ourselves, especially the third quarter, so it was a close match.

‘‘It was the hottest day we’ve played in so far, so that was quite challenging for both teams as well.

‘‘It’s been an excellent tournament.

‘‘We couldn’t have asked for better to prepare us for the World Cup’’.

The Black Sticks leave for London where they will open their world cup campaign against Belgium on July 22.

The Black Sticks men lost to Germany 7-4 in Japan yesterday.

New Zealand faced Germany for the first time since the 2016 Rio Olympics, looking to end the Japan leg of the tour well but knowing the world’s fifth ranked team would be a difficult undertaking.

With the score 4-2 to Germany at half time, the Kiwis were still in the hunt but couldn’t pull off the win.

Facing a five goal deficit with a quarter to go, the Black Sticks were looking down the barrel of another defeat on a tough tour.

They dug deep in the final 15 minutes and rallied with two goals, a Dominic Newman field goal and another from Stephen Jenness.

Stuff