The Black Sticks women have lost 2-3 to Australia in the final of the Hawkes Bay Cup hockey tournament last night.
The Anita Punt-captained hosts led 1-0 at the half-time mark, with Australia scoring two quick fire goals in the third quarter before New Zealand equalised 2-2 with one minuteremaining in the quarter. Australia scored the winning goal with just 30 seconds left.
Black Sticks striker Gemma Flynn brought the large crowd to their feet in just the first minute of the match when she slotted home from the field.
The game came alight in the third quarter when three goals were scored in the space of three minutes. Emily Smith brought Australia level when she scored from a penalty corner and shortly after Australia hit the front for the first time when Brooke Peris found herself unmarked in front of goal.
Black Sticks coach Mark Hager was extremely disappointed with the result.
"We got a goal up early and I think we were on top for the majority of the match. We created plenty of scoring opportunities but we must learn to be tougher defensively.
"To let Australia score on the stroke of fulltime is absolutely heartbreaking for the girls," he said. "They have worked so hard over the last few weeks and this is not the way we wanted to end the tournament."
Australia 3 (Emily Smith 40, Brooke Peris 43, Jodie Kenny 60). Black Sticks 2 (Gemma Flynn 1, Olivia Merry 44).
