New Zealand made a remarkable comeback to defeat Korea 5-4 in the opening match of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup 2024/25, scoring twice in the final five minutes. Ireland secured a dominant 3-0 victory over Scotland, capitalizing on counterattacks and maintaining strong defensive control. Chile and Japan played to a scoreless draw, with both teams struggling to convert penalty corners. In the final match, the United States defeated Canada 2-0, controlling possession and offensive play.

New Zealand 5-4 Korea

New Zealand pulled off an extraordinary comeback against Korea in the first match of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup 2024/25 in Santiago. After a thrilling first half which delivered five total goals, Korea led the Black Sticks 3-2. Notably, Dabin Jeong had two goals in her debut in international play, showing an impressive start from the young Korean talent.

In the second half, Korea furthered their lead to 4-2 as captain Eunbi Cheon buried their second penalty stroke of the match in the 40th minute. The Black Sticks quickly responded with a penalty corner goal in the 42nd minute by Holly Pearson. The final quarter is where New Zealand turned the game around scoring two goals in the final five minutes, Riana Pho in the 55th minute and Holly Pearson with her second of the match in the 58th minute.

Olivia Shannon, New Zealand captain, attributes this tremendous comeback to her teams’ mental toughness, “I think we have spoken a lot about self-belief, and we have got this young group now, we don’t have many caps or much experience, so for them to come out and really fire up and put out a really good performance, I’m just so proud of the girls”.

©FIH/WorldSportPics

Ireland 3-0 Scotland

Ireland breezed by Scotland in the second match of the day, coming up with three points after a 3-0 win. Despite Scotland’s hard-fought defence, they were unable to hold off the Green Army in the first half. Ireland opened the scoring in the 6th minute with a penalty corner goal scored by Mikayla Power. Scotland showed some promise in the second quarter by earning three penalty corners but failed to convert on their opportunities. Unfortunately, Ireland punished them with a quick counterattacking goal after a failed penalty corner attempt, furthering the Green Army’s lead to 2-0 before the half.

Ireland continued to show dominance in the second half by maintaining possession and suffocating Scotland’s offensive opportunities. To finish out the match, Kathryn Mullan scored in the 58th minute to solidify Ireland’s win.

Despite their first win, Ireland believe they still have areas to improve for the upcoming matches as Sarah Hawkshaw describes, “I just think moving the ball a lot quicker into space, we probably dwelled a little through the lines and Scotland to be fair had a pretty good press, and picked up a lot of our outletting, so looking to work on that for the next game.”

©FIH/WorldSportPics

Japan 0-0 Chile

The host nation, Chile, opened the tournament in front of a full crowd, creating the perfect atmosphere for Agustina Solano to celebrate her 100th cap with Las Diablas. Japan created most of the offensive chances in the first half, but Chile shut them down with a strong united defensive unit.

The second half brought more attacking opportunities for Las Diablas, with three penalty corners in the fourth quarter. Regrettably, neither team could execute on penalty corners, leaving the game at a 0-0 draw.

Francisca Tala from Chile shared comments post game: “It was a very intense game against Japan, it’s always very difficult to play against Japan.”

Amiru Shimada, captain of Japan, also shared how frustrating the match was; “This was a tough game because it was a home match for Chile, so a very very tough game and we couldn’t score so this is the next task for the next match.”

United States 2-0 Canada

Two countries who are no stranger to each other faced off in the final match of Day One of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup, as the United States took on Canada. The Americans opened the scoring in the first quarter with a well-executed penalty corner goal by Emma Deberdine. Canada struggled to create any attacking force as they were primarily occupied in fighting off the relentless attack of the US. Just before the end of the first half, the Americans were able to further their lead with another penalty corner goal scored by Meredith Shoulder in the 28th minute.

The Canadians picked it up in the second half, while creating a few more offensive chances, they were able to shut out their neighbours. The United States came out on top with a 2-0 victory.

The United States still feel they have more to work on, as Amanda Gollini shares “I think we had a lot of opportunities in the circle so looking to see how we can create more outcomes from that opportunity.”

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To see the current standings in the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup click here

FIH Women’s Nations Cup – 3 February 2025

Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional, Santiago Chile

New Zealand 5-4 Korea

Player of the match: Hannah Cotter (NZL)

Officials: Zoe Hall (ENG), Megan Robertson (CAN), Victoria Pazos (PAR – video)

Ireland 3-0 Scotland

Player of the match: Roisin Upton (IRL)

Officials: Cassidy Gallagher (AUS), Lani Nichol (NZL), Melissa Taylor (RSA – video)

Japan 0-0 Chile

Player of the match: Manuela Urroz (CHI)

Officials: Allison Mikelson (USA), Steven Bakker (NED), Victoria Pazos (PAR – video)

United States 2-0 Canada

Player of the match: Meredith Sholder (USA)

Officials: Yoon Seon Kim (KOR), Federico Silva (ARG), Melissa Taylor (RSA – video)