Three test series New Zealand vs. Argentina Women’s Hockey – An astonishing 1-all draw
The first test match of the New Zealand vs. Argentina Women’s hockey series took place on March 26 at the Rosvall ITM Stadium in Whangarei. The Black Sticks surprised the World Number one Argentina on levelling the match at one goal each.
The host team had tactfully pressurised Las Leonas with a one-goal lead during the first half. It was a solitary attempt by the striker Cathryn Finlayson, slotting a goal past the opponent’s goal-keeper Maria Aladro in the 22nd minute, opening
the score at 1-0.
This attempt was a counter attack, to a penalty corner previously awarded to Argentina and got the crowd on their feet. As soon as the goal was awarded, the spectators cheered for their host team’s dominance over Las Leonas.
The Argentinean Women made attempts to end their trail but were cleverly let down by Bianca Russell, the Black Sticks’ goal-keeper. Moreover, Clarissa Eshuis and Jan Burrows made collective efforts to take the deflected balls and retain their possession
throughout the game.
Black Sticks were successful to maintain their one-score lead by the end of the first half, closing the score at 1-0. Leading over the World Champions was a larger-than-life experience for them.
In the second half, the Black Sticks went on consuming all of their energy to keep hold of their lead. However, a penalty corner went in favour of Las Leonas and Maria D’Elia scored a well-executed shot in the 56th minute. The 24-year-old, playing
her 113th international cap, levelled the scores to 1-all.
The rest of the game was a chase amongst the teams to obtain a decisive goal score for their country. Black Sticks were soon found on the front foot in making attempts to score but failed to do so.
The final whistle blew and the match ended up in a draw at 1-all for both Las Leonas and Black Sticks.
The head Women’s hockey coach of new Zealand Mark Hager was not satisfied with the team’s play and commented that if the girls could dominate the ball possession for longer periods, they would have turned this into a victory.
"Argentina will come out firing in the next couple of games, so we need to be prepared to better handle the ball under pressure and make decisions quickly to ensure we keep possession," said Hager.
However, he also highlighted a few positives displayed by the Black Sticks during the game. The defence played a vital role in backing the attacks of their strikers. It was due to them that the forwards Ella Gunson, Kayla Sharland and Sam Harrison got encouraged
to attempt shots against their strong opponents.
The next two matches will be played on March 28 and 29 at the North Harbour Hockey Stadium in Albany.
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