The opening day of the men's and women's Oceania Cup continental championship in Taranaki, New Zealand was a fantastic one for the host nation, with both Black Sticks teams claiming victories on Wednesday.
However, it was the Black Sticks women who will steal all of the headlines thanks to a remarkable 3-2 victory over in-form title rivals Australia.
New Zealand's Gemma Flynn - who was outstanding throughout - gave the hosts an early advantage but the Hockeyroos hit back through Anna Flanagan and Brooke Peris before before a late second half surge guided the Kiwis to a win. With Petrea Webster locking the game up at 2-2, debutante Sophie Cocks delivered the game winner with just five minutes remaining on the clock.
Head coach Mark Hager said it was pleasing to open the Oceania Cup campaign with a win but there is still a long way to go.
“It was a little bit scrappy, both teams didn’t handle the turf very well", said Hager. "They applied a lot of pressure and we struggled to get the ball out of the back at times and that’s something to work on for our next game. “It was good for all three girls on debut [Brooke Neal, Liz Thompson, Sophie Cocks] to get out on the pitch and all three showed signs that they belong at this level.”
Earlier in the day Blair Hilton celebrated his 100th international cap in style as the Black Sticks Men rolled to an 18-0 win over Papua New Guinea. The Kiwis were never tested by the visiting side and dominated from start to finish in their opening game of the tournament. Striker Stephen Jenness ran rampant throughout the game and scored six goals, while Hugo Inglis and Jared Panchia both notched up hat-tricks.
Tomorrow will be a much more difficult challenge for the Black Sticks men, who will face reigning world champions Australia. The Kookaburras powered to a 32-0 victory over Samoa, with Glenn Turner (6), Jamie Dwyer (5) and Russell Ford (5) the top scorers in the game. The New Zealand v Australia game will be streamed live on the Hockey New Zealand website (www.hockeynz.co.nz) at 19:30 local time (UTC/GMT +13:00 hours).
For more information on the Oceania Cup, CLICK HERE
OCEANIA CUP RESULTS
WEDNESDAY 30 OCTOBER
MEN
TET Black Sticks 18: (Stephen Jenness 6, Hugo Inglis 3, Jared Panchia 3, Cory Bennett 2, Marcus Child, Blair Hilton, Joseph Bartholomew, Alex Shaw)
Papua New Guinea 0
Halftime: Black Sticks 11-0
Australia: 32
Samoa: 0
Halftime: Australia 16-0
WOMEN
TET Black Sticks 3: (Gemma Flynn, Petrea Webster, Sophie Cocks)
Australia 2: (Anna Flanagan, Brooke Peris)
Halftime: Tied 2-2
Papua New Guinea : 2
Samoa: 1
Halftime: Papua New Guinea 2-0
Source Material: Hockey New Zealand
