Midlands duo back on track with wins

Two strong Midlands teams enjoyed success at the under-21 national hockey tournament in Hamilton last night.

Both men’s and women’s teams rallied in their fixtures against Central teams after disappointing losses on Tuesday.

The Midlands women’s side started the tournament with a 2-0 win against Southern but their Tuesday matchup with Auckland saw them create chances but fail to follow through, and were beaten 3-2.

Last night they returned to form with a 6-0 win over Central.

After a shaky start on the sodden turf at the Gallagher Hockey Centre, the Midlands women established a nice rhythm and broke through with the opening goal, following it up with a second two minutes later. They continued to make the most of open spaces and the first half finished with Midlands up 4-0.

The second half was more of the same with two well-executed penalty corners yielding a further two goals.

‘‘The girls responded really well and they came out hard and fast and they had a desire to score goals. To get six goals is nice,’’ coach Hymie Gill said.

Players who shone included Brooke Neal at left half and striker Abbie Johnson.

‘‘They’re two that stand out for me but everyone did a good job and when the goalkeeper doesn’t touch the ball in the game, you know the rest of the team is doing pretty well.’’

The Midlands men’s side followed that winning way with a 7-3 victory over Central, scoring five well-taken goals without reply in the first half.

Central improved in the second half, scoring a goal of their own in the opening minutes but the deficit was too great.

It was the first win in the tournament for Midlands after losses to Canterbury and Auckland, who thrashed them 10-1 on Tuesday.

Despite last night’s win, the men are in tier B and face Southern today and Northland tomorrow in their quest for the B final.

The women move into the top tier and meet Capital tomorrow. They need to win that game and their Friday fixture against Canterbury to make the final.