By Alistair Hogg at Royal Canberra After a period of Aussie domination on Friday morning, New Zealand has fought back to within three points, leaving the Trans Tasman Cup hanging in the balance as the teams prepare for the afternoon foursomes. The gap could have been even narrower had the visitors capitalised on opportunities down the stretch but as a result, the Aussies held on to their slender lead. The results in the open men&aposs, women&aposs and girls&apos divisions were split right down the middle with each team winning six matches. However the Australians managed to grab the edge in the boy&aposs category where Dainel Nisbet overcame Gary John Hill 4&2 while the other three matches were squared. One of the more enthralling matches of the morning was the battle between Australian Matthew Giles and Kiwi Samuel Shin. The New Zealander looked comfortable leading by two through 15 holes and even more comfortable when Giles&apos tee shot found dense trees on the right of the 16th fairway. However a deft recovery and setup just a metre from the pin reduced the lead to one as Shin couldn&apost drain his long putt. Needing to win the last two holes to square the match Giles attacked the par three 17th but put his tee shot behind the flag just off the fringe of the green. With the pressure mounting, Shin sprayed his tee shot long and left, leaving him a daunting chip on to the green. The Kiwi caught his wedge thick and skied the ball into a bunker on the opposite side of the green, which he took two strokes to recover from. With Giles waiting patiently, wedge in hand, Shin conceded the hole and saw his lead cut to just one going into the final hole. With the momentum of the last two holes steering him, Giles maintained the pressure, going on to clinch the final hole and square the match to deliver a demoralising blow to his opponent. One of the most dominant performances of the morning came from Emma Bennett who crushed Sharon Ahn 6&4. Bennett, who was five up through the turn was relentless and barely gave her opponent a look in, even when finding herself in trouble. Her approach on the ninth finished short the sand and with Ahn&aposs ball sitting nicely on the green, it looked as if the Aussie might drop a point. However a near perfect recovery from the bunker saw her ball roll just centimetres past the hole leaving her with a tap-in. Ahn looked as if she let the pressure get to her, three putting from 10 metres turning a potential one point gain into a one point loss. Australian Stephanie Na was also solid with a 6&4 win over Lisa Wright and Ashlee Dewhurst triumphed over Dana Kim 4&3. It wasn&apost all doom and gloom for the Kiwis though who had some standout performances of their own. Larissa Eruera was unstoppable against Grace Lennon winning 6&4 while Danny Lee accounted for reigning Australian Amateur Champion Tim Stewart 2&1. James Gill also held on to a one-up lead after surviving a late scare against Rick Kulacz, who with Gill, can stake claims for shot of the day. Taking a narrow lead into 17 and with the honour, Gill&aposs tee shot homed in on the flag, striking the pin midway up. The Kiwi&aposs effort was met with a rousing reception from both teams as the ball rolled away to stop two metres from the hole. Kulacz stepped up probably wondering how on earth he would be able to better a shot like that. However as soon as the ball left the clubface, he knew it would be close, very close. Not only was it close, but it stopped dead just a foot from the pin to the absolute amazement of those who had been fortunate enough to witness the shots. Gill and Kulacz received a great ovation from onlookers as they strode down to the 17th green. Unfortunately for Gill, he missed the putt, handing Kulacz the hole and a sniff of victory. But the Kiwi regrouped and maintained his slender lead through to the clubhouse. The afternoon foursomes are now underway with New Zealand needing to make up at least three points to stay in contention for the inaugural Trans Tasman Cup.