The New Zealand women's team went down 6-0 to Korea in the opening match of a quadrangular tournament in Hong Kong.
Black Sticks coach Kevin Towns was disappointed. He said the team performed poorly in the first half, and were down 6-0 by halftime.
"I don't think they lacked the legs but they certainly struggled in that first half," he said.
Towns was heartened, however, that the players were able to come back from the break and hold Korea goalless in the second half.
"To bring themselves back into the game against a rampant Korean side and hold them zero zero in the second half, and create opportunities. I'm a lot happier in terms of what we can achieve," he said.
"Perhaps we played too expansive in the first half but we'll continue to work on areas of our game, particularly our defense, and move on from there."
New Zealand won a warm up match at the weekend, beating Hong Kong 4-0.
As the tournament continues they will also play China and India, as they build up for the Oceania Cup in Buderim, Australia, starting on 11 September.
Source: Hockey New Zealand
