Highlanders dominant in challenge shield win over Stingrays

THE City Highlanders never looked like giving up the challenge shield on Saturday.

They beat the University Stingrays 50 in the latest round of the Dunedin women’s premier club competition.

Another outstanding performance from the midfield trio of Hayley Cox, Annabelle Schneideman and Maddie Peel helped the Highlanders dominate the game.

The fastpaced attack of the Highlanders was too much for the Stingrays. Lucy Girvan made some courageous saves in goal for the Stingrays, but her efforts were not enough, and the students struggled to build any momentum against the run of play.

The University Huskies narrowly escaped with three points as they beat the Taieri Tigers 21.

The Huskies came out ready to fight after causing an upset the previous week, attacking the Tigers with pace and looking to capitalise on each mistake.

The Tigers rallied to keep themselves in contention as the clock continued to wind down but could not find an equaliser.

Ella Rogers and Ella Greenwood scored for the Huskies, and Chantelle Murrell scored the Tigers’ only goal.

The Kings United women got the best of a depleted Momona side to win 10.

Despite Momona’s dominance in the first half, it was unable to convert any other opportunities after having a goal disallowed for back of the stick.

The Kings women were patient in their attack and capitalised on a penalty corner to break the deadlock with a Charlotte Mckenzie goal.

The Kings United men were in fine form, beating the Albany Alligators 52.

Kings fired on all cylinders and displayed plenty of attacking prowess. Zach Mason and Charles Darling scored twice each for Kings, and Nic Finlayson rounded out the scoring.

The Alligators tried their best to get back in the game, captain Nick Parata leading from the front and scoring their first goal. Billy Sheard made his contribution to the comeback as he managed to find the back of the net.

The University Panthers travelled to Oamaru to play Tainui, which defended home turf with a 40 win.

Tainui had early chances but could not make them stick until Cade Hamilton opened the scoring for the side late in the first quarter.

A flurry of goals in the second quarter from Mason Kingan, Cameron Mather and Rhyan Griffiths put the home side comfortably in front.

The Panthers were unable to make headway, and despite their best efforts, they were unable to maximise their attacking opportunities.

The final game of the day between the Taieri Tuataras and the University Whales was tightly contested until the final whistle, the Tuas winning 32 after surviving the pressure from the Whales.

The Tuas got on the board early through James Nicolson, but the Whales came charging back with goals from Jakob BellKake and Henry Crump.

It was not enough as the Tuas scored again through Nicolson and Oliver Battrick.