Hockey team victorious at nationals
The Capital under-18 men’s hockey team returned victorious from Dunedin after winning the coveted national title, where eight regional teams played a week-long tournament in July.
Capital’s region extends from Ka¯ piti through to the Wairarapa, Wellington and Marlborough/ Nelson.
Of the 18 players picked, Callum Olsen, Jamal CrawfordSpellacey, Tawera Tito and Isaac Dyer have played for the local Ka¯ piti Hockey Club, with the team’s captain Dyer currently playing in the Ka¯ piti Team Medical premier one men’s team.
The team went through pool play undefeated after a shaky start against Southern when it drew 3-3 in regulation time, but won the game on shootouts. They also dispatched Midlands 3-0 and Canterbury 6-4 after establishing a 5-0 half time lead, when ex Ka¯ piti Hockey Club member Olsen scored an impressive five goals through drag flicks.
To Canterbury’s credit, they came back strongly in the second half to slot in four goals, however the win was never in doubt.
After pool play the competition split into top four and bottom four. Capital was seeded first in the crossover after going through undefeated in its pool along with North Harbour, Auckland and Midlands.
As Capital had previously played Midlands in pool play, they did not have to play one another, with Capital taking the points as they had beaten them earlier 3-0.
In their first game Capital played Auckland and lost 2-1. It was a keenly contested and close game which meant their tournament was now at risk unless they were to beat North Harbour in their last crossover game.
The game between Capital and North Harbour was a good old fashioned dogfight, with both teams scoring in the first quarter.
The game was fairly even with end to end play, and it wasn’t until two minutes from full time that Olsen slotted home the winner with an impressive drag flick, much to the jubilation of its many supporters.
In the final against Auckland, they played a brilliant defensive game which frustrated the Aucklanders and saw them take a 1-nil lead into half time. Capital continued to mount pressure in the second half while repelling numerous attacks by Auckland. Olsen scored another drag flick early in the third quarter to make it 2 nil, and six minutes later Crawford-Spellacey slammed home a field goal from an acute angle to make it 3-nil. In the fourth quarter Auckland looked somewhat dejected as Capital continued to press forward and with any luck they could well have scored two more goals, but hit the crossbar instead.
The final score was 3-0, a comprehensive and welldeserved win
Olsen ended up being the tournament’s top goal scorer with 10 drag flick goals and was also awarded player of the tournament.