Hockey: Black Sticks women into final

Kelsey Smith had a strong game for the Black Sticks. Photo / Photosport

The women's Black Sticks resurgence has continued; progressing to the final of the Hockey World League Finals.

A 1-0 victory over the second-ranked England at Harbour Hockey Stadium has given the Black Sticks a berth in the final - a sentence which seemed oh so unlikely just days ago.

After losing all three pool games, hopes were not high of the hosts progressing deep into the tournament. However, after two solid performances in elimination games, the Black Sticks could now emulate Argentina in 2015, who finished bottom of their pool before reeling off three straight wins on their way to the title.

They will likely be up against it come Sunday's final. The Netherlands are heavily favoured to beat South Korea tomorrow night in their semifinal, and will be very tough to beat.

The Dutch have yet to concede a goal, beat the Black Sticks 4-0 in pool play, and have been comfortable in every contest to date.

However, they still have to reach the final – a task the Black Sticks have locked in after grinding out a victory tonight.

In their first clash against England in three years, it was hard to pick a winner pre-match, with both teams having uninspiring pool play performances before nabbing quarter-final victories.

The opening stages confirmed that belief, with both sides creating a few chances, but failing to capitalise. Playing at a fast tempo, counter-attacks were in vogue, and defences were forced to regularly scramble to maintain order.

It was the Black Sticks with the best opportunities, but two first-half penalty corners – one after a savvy Stacey Michelsen review – were wasted. While Kelsey Smith proved dangerous attacking down the wings, England held strong, and started to grow into the contest.

They looked to have gone ahead in scrappy fashion, but their prospective opener was ruled out due to a back-of-the-stick infringement. They then nearly took advantage of a poor clearance from Black Sticks goalkeeper Sally Rutherford, but a promising opportunity was scuffed wide.

With their best efforts rebuffed, England found themselves on the back foot, with the Black Sticks enjoying a territory advantage, and putting more balls into the circle.

However, for a game with plenty of chances, neither side was clinical. England had a shot rattle off the crossbar, while both teams kept wasting gilt-edged opportunities via the penalty corner.

Eventually, it took until the final minutes to find a winner, where Michelsen earned a penalty corner, and Olivia Merry buried it into the back of the net to keep the Black Sticks' title dreams alive.

Black Sticks 1 (Olivia Merry)
England 0
HT: 0-0