• Howick and Pakuranga Times

THE men’s Black Sticks will be looking over their shoulders after a 2-0 test series lead was run down by South Korea, including two come-from-behind wins.

The Black Sticks won the opening games of the five-match series at Lloyd Elsmore Park’s hockey stadium from February 4-12, but the unconvincing victories were a signal of what was to follow.

After a last-minute 4-2 win in the first test, coach Shane McLeod scoured video of the game for ways to better his side’s performance. “The players had a much better grasp of exactly what they needed to do,” he said after the improved 3-2 win.

A series win looked likely with a 2-1 lead at halftime in the third test, but the Koreans punished New Zealand errors with swift counter-attacks to win 4-2.

The Black Sticks again led early in the fourth match, but Korea were hot on their heels, upping the tempo on the way to a 4-1 victory.

McLeod says the tourists’ pace was difficult to deal with. “Korea is a side that can smash the best in the world.”

Going into last Sunday’s decider on the back of consecutive comeback victories, Korea were poised to snatch the series from the home side. They scored after six minutes and never relinquished the lead in a see-saw battle, eventually winning 4-3 to take the series 3-2.

Despite the three back-to-back losses and series defeat, New Zealand captain Dean Couzins says the side is still on track for its London Olympics campaign.

“We’ll need to do a lot of hard work between now and then. Our basic skills will need to be a lot better.”

Forward Hugo Inglis was top goal scorer for the Black Sticks with four, while vice-captain Shea McAleese clocked up his 150th cap.