Staunch defence saw the New Zealand women's hockey team get their Pro League campaign back on track with a 2-0 victory over China in Christchurch yesterday.
Black Sticks goalkeeper Grace O'Hanlon was superb, making seven saves to complete a clean sheet, while Olivia Merry continued herscoring form, scoring a brace.
China were left to rue missed chances as they squandered five penalty corners along with some poor discipline which saw them down to nine players at one point.
"It was a little bit stressful at the end there especially when they pulled their goalkeeper," O'Hanlon said.
Merry, along with fellow striker Olivia Shannon off the bench, proved a powerful duo up front for New Zealand while Stacey Michelsen commanded play from the middle of the field in a fast-paced game.
The key moment came in the third quarter when Bingfeng Gu was sent from the field for five minutes following a heavy tackle on Shiloh Gloyn and it didn't take long for New Zealand to capitalise.
The 0-0 scoreline was eventually broken up by Merry in the 32nd minute when a Gloyn long-ball found Merry free in the shooting circle and she quickly took a touch and fired past Chinese goalie Jiao Ye.
New Zealand didn't close out the victory until late in the final quarter when Merry converted a fortuitous penalty stroke which ended up rolling through the legs of Ye who had to re-enter the game after being pulled in the dying stages.
The victory, the Black Sticks' second of their campaign, moves them to sixth in the nine-team competition with a win percentage at 40.
