Stacey Michelsen
Two rounds down and plenty more to come for the Vantage Blacks Sticks at the Vantage Hawke's Bay Festival of Hockey.
First up we met Japan who are ranked 11th in the world. We were very disappointed with the 2 -1 loss in this match. It was certainly not the way we wanted to start the tournament. And it wasn't only the loss that was disappointing, but it was more the way we played.
Japan is very strong in defence. We do tend to struggle against them because of the way they defend in numbers and get plenty of players behind the ball. Obviously we like to play fast hockey and they do a very good job at sinking back and preventing us from getting in behind their defensive line.
In the first half we found it difficult to expose them at the back, but in the second half we did move the ball better and got in behind them but weren't able to convert the chances we created. The final 10 minutes was extremely exciting as first we levelled the match only to concede the winning goal with time almost up.
In our second round match against Australia we trailed by one goal for most of the match. However in the 58th minute we capped off a really nice passage of play with a goal to Sam Harrison that gave us a 1-1 draw with our transtasman neighbours.
Again we struggled in the first half but our second half performance was certainly more pleasing. We began to link better between players and dominated much of the possession and territory throughout the half. The real disappointment was that we didn't get the ball into the net a little earlier, which would have given us more time to push for the win.
The squad is certainly feeling some disappointment with the results of our first two matches at the festival. Our focus is firmly on how we can improve our performance right across the turf as there are still plenty of matches to come.
Today we meet the USA, a team we know well after meeting them twice in Rangiora last week. It will definitely be another very tough match despite the fact that they, like us, have had a draw and a loss in their opening two matches.
The US girls are a very fit, strong and play a physical style of hockey. In the opening test in Rangiora we struggled to subdue them and suffered a 6 - 2 loss. We bounced back to record a win in the second test and this gives us confidence as we approach this evening's match.
We obviously have video from the recent tests against the USA and we will watch that to further analyse their style of play and work out how to combat their strengths. The girls are very excited to meet a team that will again provide us with a really tough challenge.
It was pleasing to see such a good crowd turn out for our match against Australia on Saturday evening. I hope everyone who attended enjoyed the hockey and we look forward to another good crowd this evening at the Regional Sports Park.
See you at the Vantage Hawke's Bay Festival of Hockey.
Stacey Michelsen is the Black Sticks captain.