The New Zealand women’s hockey team booked a place in the quarter-finals by securing a good 1-1 draw with the Netherlands today.
The New Zealanders fought hard against the Dutch, who are ranked No 1 in the world, but it seemed as if they would fall just short.
The Netherlands led 1-0 as the game went into its closing seconds.
Then New Zealand captain Kayla Whitelock scored a stunning goal to secure the draw.
New Zealand took one precious point from the match, enough to rise to second in their pool with a match to play.
Coach Mark Hager was pleased with how his team had responded to the challenge of playing such a quality side.
“It was an impressive result and will give the players plenty of confidence,” he said.
“The first quarter was pretty even, but I thought we outplayed them in the second half.” He felt his team could easily have come away with the win.
Whitelock said it was good to get a reward for the decision to attack by bringing her into the forwards late in the game.
“It’s always nice when those moves come off and to get a point is absolutely key for us,” she said.
Maartje Paumen opened the scoring for the Netherlands in the 28th minute with a pin-point drag flick from a penalty corner.
New Zealand lifted the intensity after the break and controlled much of the second half, creating some great scoring opportunities.
The equaliser came when Whitelock received a nice pass from Brooke Neal, pivoted and sent a cracking shot into the goal on the half volley.