New Zealand Beat Canada 3-2

New Zealand’s beat Canada 3-2 in a World Cup hockey match at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Monday.

Mark Pearson and Philip Wright put the Canadians in front but Priyesh Bhana and Nicholas Haig restored parity twice before Ryan Archibald found a winner for the Kiwis three minutes from time in this opening game in Group A.

Canada were ahead within a minute. Pearson took advantage of some confusion in the New Zealand circle as he slotted past keeper Kyle Pontifex to give his side a 1-0 advantage in under 40 seconds.

The goal woke up the Kiwis who were coming in to the tie after losing their four previous World Cup matches. They used the flanks well and went for long passes. Canada, on the other hand, seemed happy with the one-goal cushion as they defended deep in their half and allowed the New Zealand to keep possession.

New Zealand’s relentless attacking paid off in the 11th minute when skipper Phil Burrows intercepted a stray pass in the midfield. He broke into the Canadian circle before feeding Priyesh Bhana. The striker’s first shot was saved by the keeper Dave Carter but Bhana pounced on the rebound to put his side level. Bhana was a last-minute inclusion to the side after 21-year-old Simon Child pulled out due to security concerns.

Canada restored their lead within 10 minutes. A long, diagonal ball from Sukhwinder Gabbar Singh found Wright right outside the goalmouth in the 21st minute. Wright beat Pontifex on his second attempt to ensure Canada went into the break 2-1 up.

The second half was all New Zealand. They drew level from the first penalty corner of the match. They combined well making it easy for Nicholas Haig to drag the ball into the net in the 47th minute, making it 2-2.

They won another penalty corner in the 59th minute. But this time the Kiwis were denied as Carter made a fine save to parry the ball away, football style. Canada then had a brief spell of possession when they won two quick penalty corners. But they failed to make either of those count.

Then in the 67th minute, Archibald got the winner for New Zealand. A quick exchange of passes saw the 29-year-old with space in the Canadian circle and he lifted the ball past Carter to subject the opposition to their third straight defeat in World Cup encounters.