Amy Rossiter-Stead makes one of several vital saves against Harbour City. PHOTOS/JADE CVETKOV
HOCKEY
CHRIS COGDALE
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WOMEN
Dalefield 1
Harbour City 0
An Abby Crawley goal midway through the third quarter was all that separated Farriers Dalefield and Harbour City in Saturday’s Wellington Premier Women’s clash at the Hockey Wairarapa Trust House Complex at Clareville.
There was little to write home about in the first two quarters of the error-ridden match featuring last year’s finalists.
Both teams struggled to put phases together and regularly turned over possession through poor passes or failing to control the ball, and the goalkeepers were rarely called into action.
Defending champions Dalefield upped the ante in the third quarter and applied more pressure on the Harbour City defence.
That paid off eight minutes into the quarter when former Black Stick Felicity Reidy counterattacked and laid on a beautiful pass to Crawley. who was one-on-one with goalkeeper Kate Fraser. Crawley held her nerve to easily beat the stranded Fraser and find the back of the goal.
Harbour City, however, fought back in the fourth quarter, regularly testing Dalefield goalkeeper Amy Rossiter-Stead, who pulled off at least three outstanding saves to deny the visitors.
Dalefield captain Michael O’Connor was full of praise for Rossiter-Stead, who has been named in the South side for the junior North v South series over Easter.
“She kept us in it, and you can always rely on her,” said O’Connor, who was happy to take the points but disappointed with the disjointed effort.
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“Our intent was there and it’s always there every week, but it just wasn’t coming off, and I think everybody is still working on their fitness a little bit, and I don’t think we do very well in the heat.
“It was like we would do all the work and then it just wouldn’t come off in that last pass.”
O’Connor, however, was rapt with the way Dalefield controlled play in the vital third quarter before falling away in the last period.
“The third quarter we got our second wind, and we came back a bit and we had a bit more of a plan, but I think the legs gave away a bit at the end.”
MEN
Dalefield 5
Harbour City 0
Farriers Dalefield were too good for defending champions Harbour City, cruising to a crucial bonus point victory at Clareville on Saturday.
The home side dominated from the first whistle, but it wasn’t until the final two minutes of the quarter that co-captain Rowan Yeo broke the deadlock with a field goal.
Myles Houlahan doubled the lead early in the second spell, and a Dane Lett drag flick from a penalty corner gave Dalefield a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Zac Caldwell connected with a pinpoint pass from Yeo to score the fourth goal, and Yeo capped a fine game getting a deflection on a powerful Lett drive for the bonus point goal.
Harbour City saved their best for the final quarter, and came close with three good chances, only to be denied by some brilliant goalkeeping from the impressive Xander Redgrave.
Co-captain Daniel van Woerkom said the team will take some confidence from the game but felt that the effort had slipped from the first round 3-1 win over Indians.
“It was all right but there’s a still a lot to build on,” said van Woerkom.
“They’re a strong side and we probably came down a little bit from where we were last week, just with a few balls not really sticking and a few errors that were unforced.
“The energy is there but I think it’s those top two inches where we need to work on.”
Van Woerkom highlighted the transition as a problem area for Dalefield.
“There were times there where we were too scrambled at the back, and they probably had some chances that they could have put away.
Van Woerkom felt Dalefield were a bit lucky to keep a clean sheet and praised goalkeepers – Nick Holland in the first half and Redgrave in the second half.
“Both Nick and Xander played really well. If they sneak one in that can change momentum some time, so having them keep them out at the back is great for the team.
Both Dalefield teams will have a break for the Easter and Anzac long weekends.
