A late goal from Simon Child has helped New Zealand salvage a 3-3 draw with Australia in a men's hockey international on Wednesday night.
New Zealand twice came back from a goal down in the second half to level against the world No.1 Kookaburras in the first game of a three match series.
The Black Sticks, ranked No.10 in the world, led 1-0 at halftime thanks to a goal from David Kosoof before Australia netted twice through Matthew Naylor and Nathan Eglington in in quick succession after the restart.
Child then nabbed his first with seven minutes remaining before Australia hit back almost immediately through Naylor in the 64th minute to reclaim the lead.
But New Zealand had the last say when Auckland-based striker Child scored again three minutes from fulltime, shrugging off his markers to effect a fantastic deflection from a cross by Bevan Hari after a long ball from Casey Henwood.
Kookaburras coach Barry Dancer said although the draw was disappointing, he was pleased with certain aspects of his team's game and will focus on a number of areas for the two remaining fixtures.
"Overall I thought it was a good spectacle with some very good goals scored for both sides. I was disappointed with a few lapses, particularly deep in defence where we were found wanting on a few occasions," Dancer said.
Dancer said the team's focus will remain on New Zealand rather than looking ahead to next week's Champions Trophy tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
The second Test is in Sydney on Friday night.
