It was a happy bunch of girls as we made our way back to our hotel on Sunday night.
A 3-1 win over the highly rated China was just what we needed after struggling to subdue a gallant India in round one on Saturday. There were some nerve-racking moments before we came away with a 1-nil win at the Hawke's Bay Cup tournament on Saturday.
The girls were a little bit disappointed with our first-up effort against India. We definitely created a lot of attacking opportunities but probably weren't clinical enough in the attacking circle. That will be something that we will have to address as we get towards the finals of the Festival of Hockey.
On Sunday, it was a different story against the fifth-placed China. We were more structured and held the ball a lot better than we did against India. That allowed us to shift it around their defence and this created more opportunities for our forwards.
We also seemed to make better decisions in the attacking circle which allowed us to create more clear-cut shooting opportunities. The game was probably a little too close for too long but, once China lost two players to the bin, we were able to score two goals and put the match out of their reach.