World No.2 Australia overcame a slow start to outplay New Zealand 3-1 on Friday in a high-tempo Oceania Cup men's hockey match in Stratford.
The match, postponed after torrential rain flooded the artificial turf on Thursday night, was a fast-paced affair and the fifth-ranked Kiwis put pressure on early with a goal to Blair Hilton after 15 minutes.
The Australians hit back almost immediately, Jacob Whetton hammering home from the far post to level the scores after good work from a long corner down the right.
The Kookaburras, particularly lethal on the counterattack, doubled their lead soon after through Chris Ciriello before Russell Ford added a third two minutes from halftime.
Stand-in coach Graham Reid, in charge while Ric Charlesworth has hip surgery, said the encounter was a tough one where the Kookaburras battled for control.
"Sometimes we were able to get some penetration and, certainly in the second half, we created some good opportunities," he said.
"But there were times today when we lost the ball a fair bit. We got the ball into the circle but we didn't finish off, and that's something we'll certainly be looking at."
New Zealand coach Colin Batch was unhappy about the way his team conceded so soon after opening the scoring.
"There were some very positive things we got out of the game, but I was a little bit disappointed with how we reacted after we scored.
"We let Australia control the second part of the first half, although we defended well and created some opportunities."
The two teams meet again in the Oceania Cup final on Sunday.
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