Australia down Vantage Black Sticks in Bendigo

The Vantage Black Sticks Men have been defeated 4-0 by hosts Australia in the first of two tests in Bendigo.

The young Kiwi side fought well for most of the match and created opportunities but couldnt find a way past the Kookaburras defence.

Aidan Sarikaya and George Connell both had solid performances in their international debuts.

The Kookaburras were led by a double from Jeremy Hayward who struck twice from penalty corners while Josh Pollard and Kiran Arunasalam both scored from the field.

Vantage Black Sticks assistant coach Bryce Collins said there were plenty of positives to come out of the game which was closer than the score suggested.

"We did some good things throughout the game and created a number of penalty corners but were unable to convert them," he said.

"Australia were clinical as always in their finishing and they took some chances which we are disappointed with and will take a closer look at in our game review.

"We certainly take some positives forward and will look to tidy up a few areas before another crack at them tomorrow."

The Vantage Black Sticks face a rematch against the Kookaburras at 6pm tomorrow before travelling to Melbourne for the International Festival of Hockey.

New Zealand will play the world number two ranked Kookaburras, Japan and Pakistan from 8-12 November in Melbourne.

CLICK HERE for more on the International Festival of Hockey

VANTAGE BLACK STICKS: 0

AUSTRALIA: 4 (Jeremy Hayward 2, Josh Pollard, Kiran Arunasalam)

Halftime: Australia 2-0



- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Hockey NZ