The New Zealand men’s hockey team had to be satisfied with a draw after a tight tussle with Great Britain today.
The New Zealand side were looking to bounce back from their opening day loss to Australia, but began in the worst possible fashion when Briton David Condon scored in the second minute.
Gradually the New Zealanders climbed back into the match and when Kane Russell and Hayden Phillips scored fine field goals in the 14th and 19th minutes, they looked as if they might run away with the match.
However, James Coughlan received a green card and left the field. A few moments later, Great Britain pounced with another goal to make it 2-2.
From then, it was a see-sawing. Great Britain earned six penalty corners to New Zealand’s three and goalie Devon Manchester did exceedingly well to keep his side in the game.
The way this tournament is structured, the top four teams from each pool progress to the quarter-finals. New Zealand are yet to meet Spain, Brazil and Belgium and will want a couple of good wins from those outings. At present they are just ahead of Great Britain on goal difference.