The Black Sticks men are in a strong position to claim an historic Oceania Cup series win after they drew 3-3 with Australia in Hobart today.
Shane McLeod's side stunned Australia 3-0 in Thursday's first game and Australia now have to win by four clear goals in tomorrow's third and final match to claim the series.
The Black Sticks came close to wrapping it up in the final minute but their penalty corner variation was well read by Australia.
The Kookaburras took an early lead with a goal from their first penalty corner of the match which hit the post and fell directly in the path of Australian forward Mark Knowles.
The Black Sticks were stung into action and responded with a couple of good chances but were unable to capitalise. The remainder of the half was an end-to-end tussle with both goalkeepers called on to make critical saves.
The second half saw the Black Sticks come out firing and Simon Child equalised only 30 seconds after the restart. The Australians immediately responded only to be denied by some desperate defence by a diving Brad Shaw, who suffered a badly damaged finger and had to leave the field. Two minutes later Australia scored through World Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer to take a 2-1 lead.
Both teams created some excellent chances and it was Black Stick Blair Hilton who netted a classy equaliser after some brilliant play from Phil Burrows and Simon Child.
But Australia got their noses in front again when Russell Ford capitalised on a well-taken early free hit. New Zealand's Nick Wilson latched onto Shea McAleese's diving pass to level for the third time in the match.
The last 18 minutes saw some desperate play by both teams, with Australia driving forward and the Kiwis defending stoutly and producing a number of quality counter-attacks.
Earlier in the day, the Black Sticks women were lucky to keep their Oceania Cup hopes alive after weathering a torrid last 20 minutes to draw 3-3 with Australia in Hobart.
The Black Sticks will need to win by two goals in their final game tomorrow if they are to win the series after they were beaten in the first test on Thursday 2-1.
Clinical finishing from penalty corners ensured the Black Sticks went into half time with a handy 3-1 lead over the Hockeyroos but they needed to scramble on defence late in the second spell to avoid defeat.
The Black Sticks got on the scoreboard in the 10th minute with a clinical conversion by Gemma Flynn from a penalty corner. A second penalty corner one minute later saw Sam Harrison score following a goal-mouth scramble to take a 2-0 lead.
Australia pegged one back after the ball took a deflection on the Hockeyroos' third penalty corner but Anita Punt scored with 10 minutes left in the first half with a slick shot following a great penetrating run by Stacey Michelsen to give the Black Sticks a handy halftime lead.
The second half started in similar fashion to how the first finished with both teams testing the opposition but with limited scoring opportunities. The Australians found some added energy when they scored from a penalty corner 15 minutes into the half as they sniffed a chance to get back into the match.
A soft yellow card to Black Sticks captain Kayla Sharland with 10 minutes remaining resulted in the Kiwis dropping to 10 players and the Hockeyroos made the most of it to level the scores.
Some desperate defence and a little luck enabled the Black Sticks to come away with a hard-fought draw and take the series to a decider in the third and final match tomorrow.
Coach Mark Hager said after the game he was happy with the penalty corner conversion rate today, but basic skill errors and a lack of presence in the midfield allowed Australia to get on top in the second half.
If tomorrow's game is drawn, Australia will win the series on goal difference. If the Black Sticks win by one goal, extra time will be played to determine the winner of the series.
