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Dalefield 4
Indians 3
[in shootout]
Black Stick Dane Lett and goalkeeper Xander Redgrave were the heroes for Farriers Dalefield as they won a thrilling Intercity final 4-3 in a sudden-death shootout after the game finished in a thrilling 4-4 draw.
In a game of wildly contrasting fortunes at the National Hockey Stadium [NHS], Indians made the better start scoring two goals in the first five minutes, one an unconverted field goal and the other a penalty corner [PC]
The next five minutes belonged to Dalefield, and they bounced back with a goal to Marcus Ambrose, which was unconverted, followed by a stroke scored by Rowan Yeo, who converted the shootout for a 3-2 lead.
Just as it looked as if the game would blow out to a big score, possession evened out, and there were few other scoring opportunities.
A Lett drag flick from a PC and two Indian goals, one in the final five minutes, saw the game locked at 4-4.
Dalefield dominated the dying stages, and only desperate defence denied them a match-winning goal from a PC.
That sent the decider to a shootout, and it was still locked together at 3-3 after the five regulation attempts, forcing it to sudden death.
Lett was successful with the first sudden death attempt, leaving it to Redgrave, who stepped up and pulled off the save to seal the victory.
“It was an exciting game for the crowd, not so good sitting on the sideline trying to stay calm,” said Dalefield assistant coach Benedict van Woerkom, who was thrilled with the effort by the under-manned team.
“Given the circumstances, like we were limited with our numbers, the guys put in huge shifts and were outstanding.”
Yeo was named MVP, and Graeme Murrell, the players’ player of the final.
Van Woerkom also made special mention of Kuranui student Jarrod Yee back, who flew in from Canada on Saturday morning, drove home to Greytown, collected his gear and then drove back over for the game.
WOMEN
Dalefield 4
Harbour City 5
[in shootout]
Farriers Dalefield went down in a tense shootout in the third-fourth playoff in the Intercity Championship at the NHS on Saturday.
In a frantic first half, most of the goals came in the second quarter. At one stage Harbour City led by four goals, only for Dalefield to fight back for a 6-6 draw and force the shootout.
Dalefield missed one of their shootouts, while Harbour City managed to convert all five of theirs to wrap up third place.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at the Trust House Wairarapa Hockey Complex in a crucial game in the Wellington Premier Championship.
