The Black Sticks Men won their third consecutive match at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with a 3-1 win over Pakistan in Ipoh, Malaysia last night.
The victory puts New Zealand well clear at the top of the table as the only team with three victories.
They made a cracking start with a Ryan Archibald field goal and an Andy Hayward penalty corner putting them 2-0 up after just 11 minutes.
They extended their lead early in the second spell when Nick Wilson put away a penalty corner rebound.
Pakistan responded with a goal in the 44th minute and put the Kiwis under immense pressure in the last 20 minutes. But some resolute defence, in particular from goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex, kept Pakistan scoreless for the rest of the match.
Hayward was named player of the match.
Black Sticks coach Shane McLeod said he was pleased with the team's workrate and felt many of their late errors were due to fatigue in the humid conditions.
The Black Sticks have two days off - a bye and a rest day - before meeting top seeds Great Britain on Wednesday night.
The break will give Ben Collier time to recover from a hit to the face last night which required stitches.
New Zealand 3 (Ryan Archibald, Andy Hayward, Nick Wilson), Pakistan 1. Halftime 2-0.
