Hockey: Australia edge Black Sticks in final

Black Sticks Jordan Grant puts pressure on Hockeyroos player Georgia Nanscawen. Photo / Duncan Brown

The trans-Tasman battle in the final of the Hawke's Bay Cup women's hockey tournament went the way of Australia.

The lead swapped constantly during the match and it was only decided in the 60th minute when Australia scored after the Black Sticks defence failed to clear a penalty corner.

Black Sticks striker Gemma Flynn brought the large crowd to their feet in just the first minute of the match when she slotted home from the field.

The game really came alight in the third quarter when three goals were scored in the space of three minutes. Emily Smith brought Australia level when she scored from a penalty corner and shortly after Australia hit the front for the first time when Brooke Peris found herself unmarked in front of goal and made no mistake from 2 meters out.

The Black Sticks mounted a number of promising raids and Olivia Merry brought the match level again when she smashed the ball home after a goalmouth scramble.

The game was decided with less than a minute left on the clock when Jodie Kenny scored from a penalty corner.

Black Sticks coach Mark Hager was extremely disappointed with the result.

"We got a goal up early and I think we were on top for the majority of the match. We created plenty of scoring opportunities but we must learn to be tougher defensively," he said.

"To let Australia score on the stroke of fulltime is absolutely heartbreaking for the girls. They have worked so hard over the last few weeks and this is not the way we wanted to end the tournament."

Final score
Australia 3 (Emily Smith 40, Brooke Peris 43, Jodie Kenny 60)
Black Sticks 2 (Gemma Flynn 1, Olivia Merry 44)
Halftime: Black Sticks 1 Australia 0