Australia edge out Black Sticks with last-minute goal

A last-minute goal has seen Australia snatch a 2-1 win over the Black Sticks at the men’s Hockey World League semifinal in South Africa.

The Kiwis were first to score but couldn’t stop the Kookaburras who powered home with two goals in the final 10 minutes to snare three points.

The result leaves New Zealand fourth in Pool A ahead of their

final pool match against Spain tonight.

The outcome against Spain will determine who the Black Sticks meet in the cross-over quarterfinals phase at the tournament.

Head coach Darren Smith said it was a disappointing final result in a game they had set up well.

‘‘We were expecting a tough, hard-nosed game coming in and I thought we played well for the first three quarters but then allowed Australia to take control,’’ Smith said.

‘‘We put together some good hockey but in the fourth quarter we sat back too deep and were a bit tentative which Australia capitalised on.

‘‘The next game against Spain is very important as we need to display a good performance to try and finish as high as we can in the pool.’’

It was an evenly poised first half which saw few scoring opportunities for either side and a 0-0 score line at halftime.

New Zealand broke the deadlock in the 39th minute when Hayden Phillips sent a crashing ball across the face of goal for a diving tap in from Jared Panchia on the far post.

Australia equalised midway through the fourth quarter from a penalty corner with Jeremy Edwards picking up the initial save and sending a reverse shot over the shoulder of Devon Manchester.

The Kookaburras then delivered the winning strike with just 40 seconds remaining on the clock when Jeremy Hayward ripped a penalty corner flick into the back of the net.