The New Zealand men's hockey team have finished the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on a sour note, losing 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out to England in the bronze medal match after the game finished tied 3-3 at full time.
Dean Couzins (L) and Simon Child of New Zealand dejected after losing the bronze medal match. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The team topped group play, but will be left to rue missed opportunities after missing out on the medals and losing their final two games in dramatic fashion.
"We hung in there until the end but we just didn't take enough chances. It was 50-50 - we had similar opportunities. It's a real shame. It's time to sit back and have a think about it all, look back on the game and improve from there," said the retiring captain Dean Couzins.
The result is a reversal of the bronze medal game in Delhi 2010 when New Zealand won on penalty strokes against England after a 3-3 draw to claim the bronze.
"We have a good group moving forward, we have a really strong group of guys and a strong culture in the team and I think Rio Olympics is going to be a really good opportunity, but it certainly would have been nice to have come away with a medal here," said New Zealand's Simon Child.
Child opened the scoring for New Zealand but England equalised when scoring from close range in the 29th minute. A penalty corner strike four minutes before half time from Ashley Jackson, his eighth of the tournament, put England in front. But New Zealand went straight down the other end and equalised instantly with Andy Hayward scoring his fifth goal of the tournament, a penalty corner strike for a half time score of 2-2.
Another penalty corner from Jackson in the second half was cancelled out by a Child effort that went through the legs of England goalkeeper George Pinner to take the game to a dramatic shootout.