NZ men reach semifinal
Finn Ward of the Black Sticks during their Nations Cup game against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
The Black Sticks men pulled off another remarkable comeback at the Nations Cup in Malaysia yesterday.
The New Zealanders fought back from 3-1 down at halftime to beat Pakistan 4-3 in their final pool game.
That made it three wins from three in pool play. They finish top of pool B and will play Korea in a semifinal tomorrow morning (NZ time).
New Zealand came out firing and dominated the opening minutes yesterday.
The pressure paid off early, Nic Woods converting a penalty corner flick to give his side the lead.
But Pakistan responded in style. They took control of the midfield, forcing turnovers and countering hard, and their defence was solid, shutting down every circle entry.
Three unanswered goals put Pakistan in charge going into halftime.
The third quarter was all Black Sticks, however.
After several penalty corner chances were denied, Scott Cosslett finally broke through with a powerful flick. Just a minute later, he did it again, and the two goals in quick succession had the game at 3-3 heading into the final quarter.
Cosslett was not done. Six minutes into the fourth, he scored from a penalty corner to complete his hat-trick.
There were more chances to extend the lead — a rocket from Sean Findlay and a diving effort from Finn Ward were denied by some outstanding goalkeeping from Pakistan.
Ward was making his third appearance for the Black Sticks and was joined by brother Patrick, who was activated from the travelling reserves due to illness to team-mate Gus Nelson.
Fellow Otago players Benji Culhane and Malachi Buschl also saw some action. — APL
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