WOMEN SECURE A SPOT IN THE SEMI-FINAL AT THE FIH NATIONS CUP
The Vantage Black Sticks Women have secured their spot in the semi-finals of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup in Santiago, Chile, with a 3-1 victory over Scotland in their final pool match.
In what was essentially a quarter-final clash, New Zealand needed at least a draw to advance. They made sure of their progression with a commanding performance against the Scots. Scotland, making their Nations Cup debut, came out strong, earning a penalty corner in the first two minutes, signalling their intent to push the girls from the outset. Slowly settling into the match, New Zealand struggled to generate clear attacking opportunities early on, and it was Brittany Wang who created the first real chance of the first quarter just before halftime, not quite able to slip it past the Scottish keeper.
New Zealand starting to find momentum in the second quarter with three penalty corners awarded. Brittany Wang started a train of attempts on goal which saw the first of two PCs. It was the second penalty corner that saw Kaitlin Cotter score off a drag flick to find the equaliser.
Keeping the score at bay going into half-time, we saw two fantastic saves by goalie Grace O’Hanlon, first blocking a reverse shot from a Scottish attacker, then reacting quickly to clear away a dangerous rebound attempt in a goalmouth scramble, denying the one-up.
The third quarter saw most of the action unfold in its final moments. Holly Pearson and Mezzy Surridge found some space but couldn't quite control it in the circle. Moments later, Kaitlin Cotter fired a ball into the circle to her sister Hannah, whose shot went just wide. Mezzy Surridge then took a reverse shot just before the whistle.
The final quarter was tense, with both teams aware that a goal could quickly change the result and their place in the Semi-final. Scotland looked dangerous in moments, but Grace O'Hanlon held firm in goal. A New Zealand counter-attack at the 54-minute mark resulted in a penalty corner, from which Olivia Shannon got the deflection off a drag flick from the top of the circle. Within the same minute, Olivia Shannon was awarded a yellow card and sent off, followed by cards given to two of her teammates (Emma Findlay [green] and Emma Rainey [yellow]), meaning NZ were two players down for the last five minutes. This didn’t stop them though and with the Scottish keeper pulled, Mezzy Surridge was able to calmly direct the ball at goal, with a finishing touch from Emma Findlay.
With this win, New Zealand have secured their spot in the semi-finals, where they will be joined by Ireland from their pool. They will play hosts Chile on Sunday 2nd March at 10.30am NZT.
The match will be live on TVNZ+ here.