TARANAKI HOCKEY
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15 August 2005

Minor Premiership Finalists Decided

Two contrasting games saw Te Kiri and Stratford confirmed as the finalists for the Taranaki men's hockey minor premiership. I the first semi-final it went to sudden death penalty stokes before Hawera and Te Kiri could be separated, while in the second semi-final Stratford eventually cruised to a 5-0 win over New Plymouth Boys High School. Te Kiri and Hawera have been level pegging all through the club championship so far, and the semi-final was no exception. Hawera made by far the better start and led 1-0 after only 5 minutes through a field goal on the fast break by Chris Barr. Te Kiri hit back almost immediately, when a poor pass out of defence was intercepted by Cameron Ardern. the resulting melee in the circle resulted in a penalty stroke, which Leslie Symes calmly converted. Hawera continued to make better use of its possession, with Rhys Wineera at centre half having a fine game breaking up Te Kiri attacks and re-distributing ball. All of this pressure eventually resulted in a penalty corner which Mike van Beekhuizen converted. Te Kiri tried to claw its way back but could not put enough pressure on the Hawera defence, and a further penalty corner just before half time saw Jim Murray knock home a rebound at the left post. Te Kiri came out in the second half with the clear objective of first reducing the deficit and then getting into a winning position. By improving their accuracy using a short passing game they started to open up the Hawera defence. An attack down the right saw the ball transferred to Leslie Symes and then Phillip Gargan, whose precise placements saw the ball elude the Hawera keeper and reduce the deficit to one. Te Kiri continued to apply the pressure at one end and absorb it at the other. A penalty corner late in the half saw the ball fall loose on the right post where Rhys Armstrong knocked it in off a defenders foot, and the scores were level. In the closing minutes both sides had their opportunities to close out the game but were unable to do so, and the game went to penalty strokes. Pressure can lead to unexpected results and both Les Symes and Mike van Beekhuizen missed their first attempts. Hawera went ahead in the stroke count before Bruce Colgan made two important saves, and the strokes went to sudden death. After the first two stroke takers from either side had succeeded with their attempts, Colgan made the vital save for Te Kiri and they were through to the final. In the second semi-final, it was a case of age and experience being too much for the running and enthusiasm of the school side. Stratford took some time to settle into its rhythm, but once it did the goals came. A`good pass from Andrew Hey found Grant Boyde in the circle who fed Paul Williams on the left hand post and Stratford led 1-0. Stratford then went 2-0 up when Troy Edgecombe converted a lay-off at a penalty corner. The third came when NPBHS defender Murray Perks slipped at the top of the circle gifting Grant Boyde a relatively easy opportunity to score. Before the break Justin Jordan scored from a deflection at a penalty corner, and the game was basically beyond doubt. The second half petered out into a rather scrappy affair. Stratford managed to extend their lead when Grant Boyde scored from just outside the right post. The frustration started to tell on the NPBHS players, and thenm spent the latter part of the game down to 9 men, when Lloyd McLoughlin was shown a yellow card for deliberate use of the back of the stick, and Tim Lepper the same card for back cat to the umpire. Tukapa and the Yarrows Masters teams have been confirmed as the minor premiership finalists after the semis were held in Stratford on Saturday. Tukapa managed to see off NPGHS 3-0, while the Yarrows Masters side overcame a slow start to bury Stratford 7-1. In the first semi-final, two evenly matched teams fought out a closely contested semi-final. In the end it came down to one team taking its chances. NPGHS started well, pressuring the Tukapa defence, but then found itself defending a corner after a fast break by Tukapa. The school side was unable to effectively clear its circle and Lara Bertie scored from close range to give Tukapa the lead. For the next ten minutes the game was evenly; shared through the mid-field with Tukapa managing to create at least two more good scoring opportunities. By midway through the half, NPGHS had gained more control of the game, with Valissa Armstrong creating space and penetration down the right flank. Against the run of play, Tukapa made another long break out from defence and Amanda George capitalised on some loose defensive work in the NPGHS circle to enable Tukapa to extend their lead, and at the break Tukapa lead 2-0. After the beak, NPGHS took control of the game both in possession and Field position, camping in the Tukapa half. Despite a number of opportunities to score the young and inexperienced front three could not capitalise on the possession being fed through from Armstrong and Erin Ross. Tukapa were forced to work hard in defence, with the experienced Zoe Osborne snuffing out a number of circle penetrations. Tukapa were guilty of turning over too much ball in the midfield where Aimee-Lee Landrigan for NPGHS had a fine game, tackling decisively and then feeding her forwards. With only 5 minutes to go, Tukapa managed another long range breakout and Alyssha Joseph slotted the field goal to put the result beyond doubt. NPGHS were hampered by not having a bench to call on and certainly missed Helen Riley and Nicole Nancarrow up front. It should be an interesting re-match in the top four competition after the minor premiership is decided. In the second semi-final, the Yarrows Masters side took a while to settle, and both sides traded goals in the first 15 minutes of the match.. Jenny Bower got the Masters on the scorecard with a neat reverse flick, but Stratford replied on the fast break to even things up. They should have gone 2-1 up soon after, but the Masters keeper denied them the opportunity. Right on 20 minutes into the half, Jenny Algar forced a penalty corner, and Diane McCarty scored from close range on the right hand post, to take the Masters out to a 2-1 lead. Only two minutes later, Jenny Bower was again on the score sheet slotting home a penalty corner rebound. Rachel Nield in the Stratford goal was having a torrid time, and only a minute later Carolyn Burgham crashed home a penalty corner to take the Masters out to 3-1. The best was yet to come just before half-time. Deborah Armstrong set off on an arching run from the centre of the pitch into the inside left lane. Her hit into the circle was deftly met by the angled run of Diane McCarty and the deflection flew high into the net. The second half began as it had ended. Yarrows Masters went out to a 6-1 lead when Carolyn Burgham smashed home another penalty corner, followed soon after by a Jenny Algar field goal. From there on the game lost some of its intensity, and Stratford were able to deny a the Masters side any more scoring opportunities. Carolyn Burgham and Jenny Algar at fullback denied the young Stratford side the opportunities to develop attacks, while the Masters midfield of Deborah Armstrong, Judith Sewell-Monod and Carla Ralph were too skilful for their opposites.

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