NANJING, China, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China avenged their 2-0 away defeat at the hands of New Zealand by a 5-3 margin over the visiting side in the FIH women Pro League on Friday at the Wujin Hockey Stadium in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.
China took a 1-0 advantage as Cui Qiuxia's diving penalty corner deflection in the ninth minute. The gap was enlarged four minutes later when Zhang Xiaoxue drilled a low, powerful shot into the bottom left corner.
China extended their lead to 3-0 in the 51st minute thanks to a glorious, high penalty corner drag-flick from Gu Bingfeng.
New Zealand scored twice in quick succession through penalty corner efforts from Stacey Michelsen and Shiloh Gloyn to bring the team back into the contest at 3-2.
Both China's Guo Qiu and Rose Keddell of New Zealand hit the target, taking the score to 4-3.
The result was sealed when China won a penalty corner in the dying seconds of the match, and Gu claimed her second goal of the contest by drag-flicking into a New Zealand net.
"Comparing with the 2-0 defeat in February, our players are more confident and energetic, but they are not mature enough. When the victory is coming, they have too much in their heads," said Huang Yongsheng, the head coach of China.
"They can do better in the future, and it should be the players to dominate the game, not the coach," he added.
After the match, New Zealand sits in the fifth position in the FIH women's Pro League standings, while China remains in seventh.
The FIH women Pro League continues next Friday as USA meets Belgium.
