Abby Crawley was Dalefield’s Player of the Day. PHOTO/FILE
HOCKEY
CHRIS COGDALE
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The Dalefield teams confirmed they’re among the favourites for the Wellington men’s and women’s hockey premierships with bonus point victories on Saturday.
The women rollicked to a 10-0 thumping of Kapiti, while the men secured a 6-0 win over Indians.
Dalefield women’s coach Michael O’Connor was expecting a stern challenge from Kapiti in Paraparaumu.
But with the home side missing former Black Stick great Suzie Muirhead, who has retired, Dalefield were never threatened.
Player of the day Abby Crawley opened the scoring, followed by goals to Jaylin Dawson and Morgan Percy in the first quarter.
Crawley and Amy Johnson scored goals in the second quarter for a 5-0 halftime lead.
The goals continued to flow in the third period with Felicity Reidy adding two, and Johnson scoring her second.
Crawley completed her hat-trick and Rosie Rooderkirk capped off the scoring in the final quarter.
O’Connor said it was an excellent all-round performance.
“I’d be nit-picking if I had to try and find someone who had a bad game,” he said.
“Our strikers had really strong games, our midfield was good, and our back five were solid all game. You know when your goalie doesn’t touch the ball all day your defence is doing pretty well.
“Games like this can sometimes turn to custard when you’re so dominant but their focus and concentration was really good right until the last whistle, so it was good to see.”
Meanwhile, Dalefield picked up their second bonus point in the men’s premiership with a 6-0 victory over Indians at the National Hockey Stadium on Saturday, however the scoreline could’ve been much greater.
The defending champions dominated from the start but squandered numerous opportunities to score.
Benedict van Woerkom, with three, Jordan Cohen, Zac Hardie ,and Dane Lett found the back of the cage for Dalefield.
One area of concern was the team’s inability to convert penalty corners. They forced five PCs in Saturday’s game, but managed to only score from one.
With the loss of their specialist stopper from last year, Nick Finlayson, the plays have tended breakdown and co-manager Bernie Lett said that is one area they need to work on.
