The Black Sticks have won 4-1 in their fifth match against India in Wellington tonight.

Black Sticks coach Mark Hager asked for a strong start from his side, and he got exactly that with the Kiwis making the most of their opportunities early on.

Within the first two minutes local player Aniwaka Roberts made a break, passing to Charlotte Harrison who found Katie Glynn in the circle who knocked it straight in.

Glynn scored her second of the game, this time from a penalty corner which she flicked low to the back of the net.

Debutant goalkeeper Georgia Barnett (Central) played the first half and coped with the pressure well making some superb saves. Canterbury’s goalkeeper Amelia Gibson played the second half.

With the score 2-0 at half time, the Black Sticks doubled that in the second half thanks to goals from Capital’s Anita Punt and Central’s Michaela Curtis.

India’s Jaspreet Kaur scored in the 56th minute but although the visitors put pressure on the Black Sticks they weren’t able to capitalise on their opportunities.

“We started really well tonight, but at times we lacked discipline and focus on what the game plan was and this lead to the ball being turned over too much.

“We are a young group and tournaments like this help players learn how to cope under pressure,” said Hager.

The final game of the series is tomorrow night at 6pm at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington. Tickets are available at www.iticket.co.nz and gate sales are also available.

Results:
New Zealand (Katie Glynn 2, Anita Punt, Michaela Curtis) India (Kaur Jaspreet) HT: 2-0

Amrinder Singh Saini is a journalist based in New Zealand