Great Britain vs New Zealand: 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup – Day 4 Preview
Great Britain will play against the New Zealand Black Sticks on the fourth day of the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, to be held at the Azlan Shah Stadium, in Ipoh on May 9. This seven-nation Malaysian Invitational will conclude on May 15, and the
Kiwis and the Brits are looking like strong contenders for the cup.
Great Britain
This year, the British team has a good mix of English and Scottish players and is proving to be one of the stronger sides in this year’s Azlan Shah Cup. They played three matches in which they were defeated by India by 1-3, won over the host team by 3-1
and surprisingly defeated Pakistan by a close 3-2 score.
The last time they appeared in the Azlan Cup was in 1987 and they ended up with a bronze medal win. So far the Brits have shown exceptional resilience and have played highly competitive hockey on Malaysian ground.
New Zealand
The Black Stick men had an unfortunate beginning with a defeat and the hands of Pakistan by 2-4 score on the opening day of the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah.
This year, the squad is lacking some of the most experienced players on the squad who have been replaced by some young talent with less or no international experience.
According to their head coach, Shane McLeod, “We are the third highest ranked team going into the tournament, but we are missing some key players and we have a young side, so we need to be realistic about our chances.”
The team’s captain was a 223 capped player Dean Couzins. Moreover, Matt L’Huillier was also invited to the squad. Matt had made a great impression on the coach in the practice matches that were played prior to the Azlan Shah’s commencement, scoring a hat-trick
in one of the matches.
Players to watch
From the British team, Jonathan Clarke will be the centre of attention. He holds a record of more than 157 international caps and he managed to score twice against the Pakistan team in their last match in the Azlan Cup this year.
On the other hand, the whole game will rely on the Black Stick goal-keeper Stephen Graham to save the team from getting beaten down by their British counterpart.
Head-to-head Statistics
The teams had their last encounters in two practice matches that were played in Macau and Hong Kong prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Both the matches were won by Great Britain with a score line of 2-1 and 3-2, showing a good head-to-head play until
the last minute of the matches.
Prediction
The match will be very tough for New Zealand to play and the match is expected to end in favour of the British, 3-2.
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