Men
Dalefield 4 Victoria 3
Sticking to the game plan proved the difference for Farriers Dalefield in their gritty 4-3 win over Victoria at the Trust House Wairarapa Hockey Complex at Clareville on Saturday.
Dalefield went into the game without several key players, and assistant coach-player Benedict van Woerkom believes the win is a massive confidence booster for the young side.
“Especially with the number of guys we still had out,” van Woerkom said.
“The guys that were there were really disciplined in our structure and played to the game plan, and while not being perfect, they stuck with it, and that was the difference.
“It’s a huge confidence boost for those guys and the team in general especially having the players who are still to come back in.”
The home team, who had some players playing out of position, dominated for most of the game but went behind early when they turned over the ball in a dangerous area.
Marcus Ambrose evened the score with a drag flick from a penalty corner. The visitors were next to score, but a tap-in goal to Kyle Craven and goals to Rowan Yeo and Ambrose gave Dalefield a two-goal cushion heading into the final period.
Although Victoria added a third, the home town defence did enough to hold on and secure the points.
Van Woerkom singled out Alex Sumenko-Bucknell as the player of the day, saying that every time he got the ball in midfield, he threatened and he created umpteen opportunities.
Women
Dalefield 6 Victoria 0
Farriers Dalefield turned on a much-improved effort to thrash a useful Victoria 6-0 at Clareville and lock in a valuable bonus point for winning by five goals or more.
Dalefield had started the season with a 4-3 loss to Harbour City and needed a good win to get their campaign on track, with every game vital because of the new format, which will see the top two teams go straight to the final.
Alana Rowe got the scoring underway in the first quarter, with Charlize Baron adding a second in that period.
Emma McLeod and Rowe scored in the second quarter, while Rosie Rooderkirk found the back of the goal in the third period, and Felicity Reidy completed the rout in the fourth.
Co-coach Michael O’Connor felt it was a much better effort than against Harbour City, saying Dalefield controlled the game throughout.
“The passing was really good, and we didn’t dribble as much as some of the girls wanted to but made the ground up with some really good nice passing, and when we got into their circle, we really put the effort in to get those goals,” O’Connor said.
“We asked them to keep the pace of the game high, which they did because that can be really hard if you’re on top of a team.”
O’Connor was also thrilled with the defence and not conceding any goals, which helped secured the bonus point.
“We have to keep an eye on that if we want to be there at the end,” he said.
Katie McAnulty was the player of the day.
Dalefield were scheduled to play Toa at home tomorrow, but have already won the match by default.
