Katikati Cougars came close to pulling off an upset in the Midlands Intercity women's hockey final at Tauranga on Saturday.
In an exciting match against last year's champions Thames Valley United, Katikati scored first with a quick goal to Natasha Leong in the second minute. Valley were stunned by this unexpected blow, and Katikati continued to apply pressure.
It took another 20 minutes before Valley got into their stride, with Ellie McCleery beating the Katikati goalie. Within a few minutes Katikati was back in front from a good goal from Anna Henson, and the crowd sensed that Katikati may be about to topple the champions.
However Annie McNaughton equalised for Valley just on halftime. The experience of the Valley team showed through in the second half, but it was not until 15 minutes from fulltime that McCleery scored her second of the match, a beautiful field goal, that saw Valley take the lead for the first time.
Both teams worked hard to find a weakness in their opponent but no further scoring occurred and Valley retained the Intercity Cup by the narrow margin of 3-2. Skilful Nicky Smith was prominent for Valley, while Rebecca Kersten worked tirelessly for Katikati.