Hockey: Better performance but same result

Olivia Merry's two goals were unable to prevent the Black Sticks from falling to a 4-3 defeat against Korea. Photo / Getty

The New Zealand women's hockey side have lost 4-3 to Korea for the second day in a row at Auckland Grammar School in Mt Eden.

After dropping the first test last night by the same scoreline, the Black Sticks put on a better display but couldn't avoid being swept 2-0 in the series.

While they will be upset with the losses, the games have given the national selectors a chance to pick a team ahead of the Hawke's Bay Festival, starting next weekend in Napier.

"At the moment we aren't treasuring each instance on the field and making the most of it," said coach Mark Hager. "At times today, we struggled to put sequences of passes together and we just need to improve the basics.

"It was frustrating to concede so many goals again and some of the younger players lacked consistency."

It was an improved start for the Kiwis compared to their opening spell in last night's game. They were tighter on defence and much more composed up front, but the Koreans were the first to score through Han Hye Lyoung.

The home side's work paid off when Canterbury's Sophie Cocks got New Zealand back in the game, before Olivia Merry put New Zealand in the lead six minutes later. Following a similar fashion to last night's match, it became tit-for-tat and Hye Lyoung scored her second to tie it up just before halftime.

The second half remained a close contest, with the Black Sticks creating some great opportunities through a few trademark Gemma Flynn sprints through the midfield. But Korea remained relentless in defence and worked well to turn over ball, eventually earning a penalty corner that Park Ki Ju converted in the 55th minute.

Merry gave the Kiwis real hope for a win when she found the back of the net in the 67th minute but a last-minute penalty corner conversion from Cheon Seul gave the visitors victory.

The news got worse for the Black Sticks, with Anita Punt injuring her knee and leaving the field just before halftime, ruling her out of the upcoming games against China this week.

Hager will tomorrow announce a team of 18 for next month's Hawke's Bay Festival. The team will then head to Taupo where they play two warm-up games against China at Hickling Park.

The Hawke's Bay Festival will see the Black Sticks take on Australia, Argentina, Korea, Japan and China.

New Zealand 3 (Sophie Cocks, Olivia Merry 2)
Korea 4 (Han Hye Lyoung 2, Park Ki Ju, Cheon Seul)
HT: 2-2