Junior Black Sticks end up in a draw with Malaysia by 2-2 on the second day: Hockey Recap
New Zealand Juniors finished with a draw at 2-2 against their Malaysian counterparts in their second match, held today, June 4 at the Alexander McMillan Hockey Centre at Logan Park, in Dunedin, New Zealand.
As compared to their last match’s performance, their domination had been stolen by the Malaysian juniors with an outstanding display today.
In the first half, the Black Sticks managed to open up scores in the 6th minute, when Jared Jones slotted a shot past the opponent’s goal-keeper, giving lead by 1-0.
Six minutes later, Isaac Staples almost made an attempt, but his shot went wasted. However, they continued to put pressure over Malaysia.
The pace of the game seemed to be raging as the time passed, with Malaysia equally dominating the field.
Malaysia almost made it with an equaliser many times, but due to poor execution their two penalty corner attempts went wasted. However, in their third penalty corner award, Nor Faezs converted the corner and awarded his team with an equaliser in the 29th
minute.
Black Sticks were close to breaking the score-lock, but they missed their chance to lead over their opponents due to errors and the first half concluded with scores locked at 1-1.
The game caught fire in the second half, with Malaysia raging over their opponent side, whereas Black Sticks struggling to bear the heat.
In the 43rd minute, Malaysia’s Faez flicked another penalty corner attempt into the goal, taking a surprising lead by 2-1.
On the other hand, each time when Black Stick Juniors reached to score a shot, their mistakes came in their way, keeping them away from an equaliser. They even missed to convert their first penalty corner award of the series.
However, in the 55th minute, they locked the scores at 2-2 when Jared Jones reappeared to count another score for his team.
With this score, the team seemed to be energised and went on dominating the field. The last ten minutes of the game were a tough fight from both the ends, trying to take a lead over their opponents. Black Sticks had a golden opportunity in hand on receiving
a penalty corner award, yet they failed to trace the ball into the net again.
The match closed with scores locked at 2-2, declaring the match draw. The next match is to be played, on June 6, following a rest day.
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