Rowan Yeo lines up a shot against Indians. PHOTOS/JADE CVETKOV
HOCKEY
CHRIS COGDALE
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MEN
DALEFIELD 2
INDIANS 1
Farriers Dalefield were pushed all the way before they sealed a valuable 2-1 victory over a talented Indians side at Clareville on Saturday.
The two times defending champions could not have got off to a better start with Dylan Price beating the Indians goalkeeper with a powerful shot from the edge of the circle in the first two minutes.
Apart from the opening surge, Indians had the better of early territory and possession, but failed to score, missing at least two good scoring opportunities with passes across the face of goal.
Indians finally did get on the scoresheet in the third quarter when Isaac Dyer converted a stroke, only for Dalefield to reply almost immediately when Rowan Yeo tapped in a Myles Houlahan cross at the far post.
Both teams had their opportunities to add to the score, but in the end Dalefield did just enough to secure the three points, much to the satisfaction of goalkeeper and captain John Forsyth.
“It was good to get on the board early and then the game sort of became a bit of a stalemate for large periods,” he said.
“We showed good resilience as well when we conceded a stroke. To come back and score almost immediately showed the boys still had a lot in the tank and wanted the win, and I’m really proud of them, and those points are going to be really important later in the season.”
The win has lifted Dalefield to third in the Wellington Premier Championship, with their only loss coming against Hutt United, while they have beaten top four contenders Indians and Harbour City.
“That’s the big three out of the way and we now have a better idea of where we are as a team, and we’ll push forward to get as many points on the board as we can.”
WOMEN
DALEFIELD 10
TOA 0
Farriers Dalefield hit form in the second half to score their first bonus point victory of the Wellington Women’s Premier Championship at Clareville on Saturday.
Although Dalefield had the lion’s share of possession and territory in the first half, there was no score in the first quarter, and only two goals at halftime.
But a call from player-coach Katherine van Woerkom for more intensity in the second 35 minutes hit the mark, and the home side scored three goals in the third period, and five goals in the final quarter.
Felicity Reidy scored a hat-trick, Sinead Namana scored two goals, while Maddie Taylor, van Woerkom, Brigette Mossman, Emma Smith, and player of the day Mandy Yeo also found the back of the cage.
Van Woerkom said the first half was typical of what can happen against the lesser teams.
“It’s not that we weren’t trying to do the right things in the first half, but it just wasn’t coming off, but also we were all over them and we thought it will come but it wasn’t coming,” she said.
“We wanted to use the space more and in the second half we certainly did that. We passed the ball well and we were playing some really nice hockey towards the end of the game.
“It really does set the bar for what kind of hockey we can play.”
Dalefield are now fourth in the league but should move further up the table with the two bottom teams Victoria and Karori to play in the first round.
