Levin relish College defeat
A rare win over College has Levin Hockey in a good position after two weeks of the second round of the Manawatu¯ men’s club competition.
The 2-0 win at the twin turfs last Saturday was Levin’s first win over College since round 1 in 2016 and leaves Levin as the only unbeaten team after two weeks. There are four weeks to go, with the top two sides qualifying for the final.
With national age-group tournaments on, most teams had players unavailable.
College came out firing and spent a lot of the game on attack, but Levin kept them out. Levin goalkeeper Angus Griffin had a massive game and made a lot of saves.
Levin pressed hard and didn’t give College any time on the ball.
It was a high-intensity game, with a few cards given out.
Levin scored just before halftime to give them a 1-0 lead, then sealed the result with a second goal late in the game. College took their goalkeeper off with five minutes to go in search of a goal.
Veteran Kim Porteous had another good game for Levin.
Aaron Purser and Angus Hazlett played well for College.
Massey were in control of a 4-1
result over Marist.
Massey had most of the possession and created a few other opportunities they didn’t put away. Massey led 2-0 at halftime. Striker Jason Peel had a good game, as did midfielder Mitchell Cronin, who scored two goals.
In the women’s competition, High School Hockey Club thrashed Whanganui 12-0 and College won 6-0 over Massey.
Palmerston North Girls’ High School had the bye. Verity Sharland was coaching Girls’ High with
sister Kayla Whitelock, but both stood down last month.
Meanwhile, the Central under-18 girls team won their third consecutive national crown, beating Auckland 3-0 in the final in Wellington last Saturday.
Auckland had won the roundrobin match 4-2, but Central turned the tables in the final. It was 0-0 at halftime in the final, but Kaitlin Cotter, who was the tournament’s leading goal scorer with 11, scored two goals. Younger sister Hannah sealed the result with a third goal.
Coach Verity Sharland, who has been in charge for all three titles, said it was a big result.
‘‘To do the three-peat with 11 new players this year was pretty special.’’
She said the loss to Auckland in pool play made them feel like underdogs going into the final.
The two Cotter sisters, from Hawke’s Bay, were a couple of their standouts, while midfielders Rebecca Baker (Whanganui) and Rileigh Knapp (Hawke’s Bay) both performed well.
Central lost only one game at the tournament.
The Central men finished second after they lost the final 2-1 to Canterbury.
Canterbury won the round-robin clash 4-1, but Central put up more of a fight in the final. A 32nd-minute goal to Canterbury proved the difference.
Central had three wins and two losses in the round-robin.
Club standings: Men: Levin Hockey 6, College 3, Massey 3, Marist 0. Women: College 26, HSHC 25, Girls’ High 10, Whanganui 8, Massey 0.