Great Britain beat New Zealand, 4-2, to win the third place at the 20th Azlan Shah Cup: Hockey Recap
Great Britain secured the third place, after it trounced New Zealand by 4-2 in the playoff game of the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, held at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia on May 15. Coming from behind, the British side rendered
a disciplined performance and took the Black Sticks down to two goals, 4-2.
The two teams commenced the game quite maturely, but the Black Sticks dominated the field with the ball possession in the early minutes. With four minutes into the game, the Blacks Sticks earned their first short-corner that was converted by Andrew Hayward
into a goal. However, the referee namely Waqas Ahmad Butt rejected the attempt. The second attempt from Hayward was saved in the hands of Great Britain's goal-keeper, Nicholas Brothers.
In a counter-strike, the British side obtained their first short corner in the eighth minute of the game. Richard Mantell of Great Britain made the attempt, but it was denied from Kyle Pontifex. Within a short span of time, Great Britain received three more
short-corners, but failed to capitalise on any of them. After an end-to-end play until the 20th minute of the game, the Black Sticks obtained their second short-corner of the match. Hayward was the man who sent the ball into the net through a powerful
low-moving shot, opening the score at 1-0.
After trailing the first goal, the British players adopted offensive style of play in a bid to make the level the score. They carried out plenty of attacks against the Black Sticks, but those were denied from the Brits.
With one minute left on the clock in the first half, Great Britain received their fifth short-corner of the match. Richard Mantell struck a shot that past the Black Sticks' goalie, levelling the score at 1-1. The first half of play concluded with two teams
locking horn at one-all.
No major action was occurred in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, which was filled with lot of attacks and counter-attacks. Richard Fox Daniel sent a pass towards Robert Moore on the left flank, who executed a brilliant shot at the Kiwi goal in
the 53rd minute, getting the lead for Great Britain. In a matter of six minutes, the British side received another short-corner that was converted by Richard Smith via a flicking shot in the 59th minute of the match.
With five minutes left in the second half, Mathew Daly managed a goal for Great Britain to expand the lead up to three goals, 4-1. In a counter-strike, Blair Hilton scored a goal in the second last minute to reduce the lead down to two goals.
As the final whistle sounded, Great Britain won the game by two goals and secured the third place in the invitational.
Tags: