The Black Sticks were defeated 2-0 by hosts Spain in their opening game at the Six Nations Invitational Tournament in Valencia. Spain scored with a 33rd-minute penalty corner goal to Pau Quemada and a field goal strike from Xavi Lleonart in the 46th minute.
New Zealand created several goal scoring chances in the second half but were unable to put any into the back of the net. Head coach Colin Batch said, “We played a pretty good game for the most part but had a few lapses and allowed them to score two goals. Going forward it’s a good learning experience for us and we need to make sure we capitalise on those chances and put them into the goal.”
On the other hand, World No. 6 Argentina got the better of Ireland in the day's third game. Juan Gilardi waited for David Harte to commit before dispatching the ball into the bottom left corner to make the score 1-0 in the second quarter. The Green Machine play their second match of the tournament against India today.
Earlier, the Men in Blue seemed off-colour as they started their campaign with an unimpressive 0-4 defeat against the defending Olympic champion.
Also Read: India 0-4 Germany - Full Match Report
Results:
Germany 3-0 IndiaNew Zealand 0-2 SpainArgentina 1-0 Ireland
