Hockey: NZ go down 3-1 to Pakistan in Six Nations hockey tournament

Unforced errors by New Zealand gifted Pakistan two match winning goals in the Six Nations Hockey invitational tournament at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday.

For much of the first half the kiwis had led 1-0 after a field goal by forward Ken Robinson in the 11th minute, but Pakistan's Sohail Abas scored the equalizer in the 35th minute.

The second half brought a change in fortunes for the kiwis, after a series of unforced errors, turned the ball and scoring opportunities over to Pakistan, New Zealand coach Kevin Towns told NZPA.

"When you play a team like Pakistan they're good enough to put goals away," he said.

Goals to Kashif Jawad in the 49th minute and Saleem Khalid in the 55th took the score to 3-1. Superb reflexes by New Zealand goalkeeper Micheal Bevin denied Pakistan a bigger margin.

Despite the unforced errors and missed scoring opportunities Towns said the match was a good "blooding experience" for the kiwis ahead of next months World Cup, also in Malaysia.

New Zealand have never beaten Pakistan, and last night's match had identified several areas to work on, he said.

New Zealand's final round-robin match is against Japan on Friday. The play-offs start the next day.

Pakistan tops the table with a maximum 12 points from four matches. Australia is second with eight points, and Malaysia third with five points.

The team return to New Zealand on Monday, but will be back in the Malaysian capital on February 13 to prepare for the World Cup.

- NZPA