Black Sticks Men into Nations Cup final
- Dave Worsley
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
The Black Sticks men's hockey side are through to the final of the Nations Cup tournament in Malaysia after a penalty shootout win over South Korea.
Scores were locked 2-all after regular time with the New Zealand side winning 4-2 on penalties.
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It took until the end of a relatively subdued first quarter before Scott Boyde’s slap was deflected in on the turn by Jonty Elmes, who redirected the ball into the bottom right corner.
Dylan Thomas made a relatively innocuous possession into one of the goals of the tournament. After swiftly beating three Korean defenders, he sent a flick up into the roof of the net to double the Blackstick lead.
Korea then chipped away at their opponents 2-0 lead. First to make a dent was drag-flicker Lim Dohyun who beat Dominic Dixon past his helpless right foot from Korea’s second penalty corner.
Yang Jihun then put a drag-flick into the bottom right and pulling scores level in the third quarter. The momentum chabged back and forth between the two teams until the final whistle took the sides to a penalty shootout.
Kim Jaehan made a good save to deny the first Black Sticks penalty but after Korea failed to convert their first two, New Zealand always had the upper hand to win the shootout and make it to the final.
Thomas was awarded Player of the Match and showed his excitement at making it through: “Absolutely stoked to get into the final. It was a tough game, it’s always a 50/50 when it goes into a shootout but the boys did really well to get us over the line tonight.”
The Black Sticks will face Pakistan in the final after they beat France, also in a penalty shootout
