Successful year for 1st XI hockey team
PUKEKOHE HIGH SCHOOL’S 1ST XI BOYS’ HOCKEY TEAM CAPPED OFF A VERY SUCCESSFUL YEAR BY QUALIFYING FOR THE TOPTIERED RANKIN CUP TOURNAMENT WHICH WAS HELD RECENTLY IN WELLINGTON.
The team finished the tournament with a ranking of 12th in New Zealand.
The top 32 New Zealand boys’ hockey schools took part in the tournament.
At the end of pool play the top two teams in each pool qualified for the Rankin Cup and the other two teams participated in the India Shield competition.
John Slee, teacher in charge of hockey, said the school qualified by finishing second in a keenly contested pool.
They beat Waiopehu College 5 – 1, lost to eventual tournament runners-up, Wairarapa College, and came from behind twice to draw 3 – 3 with St Patricks Silverstream from Wellington.
‘‘This gave the team a lot of confidence heading into the interpool cross-over games in the next round,’’ he said.
‘‘Pukekohe High played their best game yet when they took on St Andrews from Christchurch, narrowly losing 0 – 1.
‘‘The team was starting to raise a few eyebrows, having pushed one of the favoured teams so closely.’’
Slee said the next round saw the team come up against a fam- iliar team in Hamilton Boys High School.
‘‘They had previously played Hamilton twice this season in the Midlands Secondary Schools Intercity Competition, losing both encounters by a couple of goals.
‘‘The 1st XI had definitely saved their best for this game, and despite going down a goal early on, they fought their way back into the match and equalised with a well taken goal from Kailesh Leatham.’’
Slee said as the game progressed it was swinging more in his team’s favour.
Part way through the second half Devos Horton scored from a penalty corner.
‘‘Hamilton Boys came back with everything they had, including substituting their goalie for another field player, but they were well shut out by the Pukekohe defence led by Wesley de Kock, Sunil Parsot and Hugh Clearkin.
‘‘The final score was a 2 – 1 victory to Pukekohe.’’
He said five intense 70-minute games in four days were starting to take their toll on the young Pukekohe side which was battling sickness as well as injuries.
‘‘They could not repeat their heroics of the previous two days when they went down to Auckland Grammar and Tauranga Boys in the last two games.
‘‘Despite this, the team, coach David Kana, and the supporters were thrilled with the end result which saw them finish ahead of teams who have previously won the Rankin Cup - Westlake Boys, Hamilton Boys and Kings College.’’
He said the team would like to thank David Kana for the time and commitment he had put in over the past five years.