Indians, Northern qualify for playoffs
Indians and Northern United grabbed the final two spots ahead of Harbour City in the men’s hockey competition after a dramatic last day of round-robin games.
Needing to beat lowly Naenae to make the playoffs, Harbour started well with Jared Jones scoring in the first quarter. Naenae competed well from then on, denying Harbour attacks, until Brendon Jury brought them level at the end of the third quarter. Harbour threw everything at Naenae in the final quarter, including two penalty corners, but could not break the deadlock.
That meant Northern United only needed to draw with Victoria, who they had beaten 5-1 in the first round. They were up 3-0 at halftime and scored again shortly afterwards. Kieran Whitmore put Vic on the board, but Northern won 5-1, which meant they finished in third place with one more win than Indians.
Harbour’s draw meant Indians knew they had qualified prior to meeting Dalefield at Clareville and they played well to draw 1-1 with the defending champions.
Dalefield captain Dane Lett scored from a penalty corner and Indians replied when Mitesh Patel set up Nitin Bhikha for his third goal in three games.
Top qualifiers Hutt finished strongly, swamping Karori 13-1 for their 11th win. Now virtually at full strength, their speed and versatility were impressive. Sonny Schaller notched a hat-trick and four other players scored two goals each. Tim Green knocked in a consolation goal for Karori, just their seventh of the season.
Dalefield extended their lead at the top of the women’s table with an 8-2 win over Kapiti, also at Clareville. In the process they picked up their sixth bonus point for winning by five goals or more, and they lost only once - to Harbour City back in April.
Fourth-placed Victoria edged Karori 3-2 after a strong comeback from the black and whites. Vic led 2-0 at the break, but Karori scored immediately after the restart and caused the students problems from then on. A further goal to each side allowed Victoria advantage.
Third-placed Eastern Hutt showed they are reaching top form with a satisfying 5-1 win over second placed Harbour City, who were missing a couple of leading players. After early Eastern pressure Kat O’Callaghan’s cross was deflected in by a Harbour defender.
Charlotte Eastman replied immediately but two more goals to Eastern in the first half and two in the second gave them a deserved win. Ani Roberts looked near her best with two goals and she played to retain their a dominant role in midfield.
Indians had drawn 3-3 with Karori during the week and continued their good late-season form with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Toa.