The improving Black Sticks have the chance to level their test series with Argentina when they meet in the third of four tests at the Lloyd Elsmore Hockey Stadium tonight but they will need to pick up their set play if they are to claim that much-wanted victory.
Well-beaten (4-1) in the opening test, the Black Sticks bounced back to take a fully deserved 1-1 draw in the second test on Wednesday, showing enough to suggest they might be ready to go one step further.
It was a repeat of the first-round clash between the two teams at the January/February Champions Trophy in Argentina when they finished 2-2. But while the hosts went on to win the tournament, New Zealand finished a disappointing sixth.
Much was expected from the visitors in Wednesday's match, with Argentina, boosted by the inclusion of the world's best player, Luciana Aymar, who has won five Champions Trophy gold medals and who missed the opener through Olympic commitments.
And when they went 1-0 ahead inside two minutes, another rout was in the offing. Instead it was the home team who dug deepest and tested the world's second-ranked nation. They forced the only five penalty corners of the match but their woeful run from that set play continued.
