New Zealand and Malaysia level match, 2-2 draw - Hockey News
New Zealand's Men hockey team played the second match of their three tests on May 1 against Malaysia, at the main stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.
The three matches being played by New Zealand are in preparation for Thursday’s seven-nation tournament, the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, starting from May 5-15.
The match began after a delay of about half an hour, after a hold-up had occurred due to heavy rain at the venue. The surface of the turf was found water-logged when the match started, that made it hard for players to smoothly begin with their play.
However, the teams picked up pace after a while and the players hustled along with the ball for a scoring opportunity.
The Black Sticks had a penalty corner in the 29th minute of the match. Wellington’s Matt L’Huillier, attempted a flick that was denied by the Malaysian goal-keeper. Luckily, the deflected ball came in range of Shay Neal, who shot a re-bound and
to give New Zealand their first goal of the match to make it 1-0.
The first-half closed with no more additions from either side to the scoreboard.
The second-half opened with New Zealand dominating the field with their ball possession. Soon, in a matter of 6 minutes into the second-half, the Black Sticks hit their second goal of the match, to make the score 2-0.
The goal was scored by Gareth Brooks when Malaysian goal-keeper wrongly deflected the shot, allowing Brooks to attempt back a re-bound with a reverse-stick hit again into the net, this time conceding a score.
The Malaysian side answered back after winning a penalty stroke in the 47th minute of the match, reducing the trail at 1-2. In no time, the host team was awarded another penalty corner in the 50th minute, after to a foul from New Zealand
in the defensive circle. The penalty corner was converted again, to level the scores at 2-2, with 20 minutes left in the game.
Both sides pushed hard to win a lead over their opponent team, however, no further goals could be scored by the teams, concluding the match at a 2-2 tie.
New Zealand will play the last of their three practice matches on May 3 against India, at the same venue. The Black Sticks will face Pakistan in their first match of the Azlan Shah Cup, on May 5.
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