Thriller finale looms as Sticks warm to task

Northland hockey supporters could be in for an exciting finish to the four nations tournament this weekend as Black Sticks coach Mark Hagar says it could go either way.

After a slow start to the tournament, New Zealand seemed to have found their stride after knocking over London 2012 silver medallists Argentina with a thrilling 2-1 victory on Thursday night.

Playing particularly well is the revitalised Charlotte Harrison, who has scored goals in both matches so far.

Hagar admitted very few of his side played well in the first game, where they lost 4-3 to Korea, but that was part-and-parcel of having an inexperienced team.

"It's the nature of the beast," Hagar said. "Younger players are inconsistent and it's not until they develop their game that they become more consistent.

"We want to create depth and a really strong challenging environment so when you select a team it's no easy task."

He said his side always enjoys travelling to Northland, along with Argentina, who have now visited the region three times, as they are normally guaranteed strong home crowd support.

"That's why we enjoy playing up here [the crowds]. We get good crowds and they're very supportive, so long as we play well and that's what we're trying to do."

Today's game against the US is a must-win for his side to be safe of a position in the first and second playoff at 3.30pm tomorrow. "If the first game [at 1pm between Argentina and Korea] ends in a draw then we possibly could get away with a draw," Hagar said.

"But, you don't want to go into a game relying on the opposition [to win]. They're no easy beats [USA] and they're capable of hurting you if you let them.

"Everybody likes to win and be in finals and we need to be able to make the final. But, it's the old cliche of we've got to take each game at a time and the processes to make sure we do our job."

Hagar said that while making the final this weekend would be nice, the bigger picture was the World League in June.

Today: Argentina v Korea, 1pm; NZ v USA, 3pm.

Tomorrow: 3rd v 4th playoff, 1pm; 1st v 2nd playoff, 3.30pm.