Dom Thomas/Hockey New Zealand
Rose Tynan scores for the Black Sticks women in their opening game against China.
The Black Sticks fought back on Sunday to score a 2-2 draw in their FIH Women’s World Cup opener against China in the Netherlands on Sunday (NZ time).
In an entertaining game in front of a lively crowd at the Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam, New Zealand coughed up a one-goal lead but came from behind in the last quarter thanks to some Olivia Merry magic.
The Kiwis, ranked number 9 in the world after China’s number 13, started off with some nervous moments, perhaps to be expected after having played just four internationals since the Tokyo Olympics.
Dom Thomas/Hockey New Zealand
Tessa Jopp in action for the Black Sticks in their 2-2 draw with China in Amsterdam.
However, they settled in quickly enough, quickly finding their feet late in the opening quarter and winning the first penalty corner of the game.
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They held their ground in the second stanza, dominated possession, and were rewarded with a beautiful goal for Rose Tynan, who controlled an air ball on the edge of the circle and opened the score with a beautiful backhand shot on target.
However, China started the third period strongly and won a few penalty corners, from which they were able to convert via Zhang Ying and then Gu Bingfeng and put themselves in the foreground.
However, trailing 2-1 into the final 15 minutes, the Black Sticks kept their cool and found their response with a 47th-minute special.
Katie Doar fired an incredible long-range pass to find Hope Ralph on the wing, and Ralph used her extraordinary speed to force herself into the circle and fire an accurate pass to Merry to head home.
Both sides had the opportunity to find a match winner in the final minutes, but were unable to convert.
The Black Sticks have the remaining pool matches against England (World No. 4) on Wednesday (NZT) and India (World No. 8) on Friday (NZT).
The top in each of the four pools advance to the quarter-finals, with the second and third seeded sides playing in crossover matches.