If ever there was a case of "it's not how you start but how you finish" then the Hawke's Bay girls' hockey team epitomised that this week in Palmerston North.
The Graeme Findlay-coached side are in today's Collier Trophy final against Canterbury at Twin Turf Hockey Manawatu from 2.15pm in the battle for the under-13 girls' hockey supremacy in the country.
But few would have given the gallant girls a chance of getting this far because they opened their account on Monday with two draws - 1-1 against Wanganui and a scoreless affair against Otago in their pool B clashes.
Commendably, the youngsters didn't drop their shoulders, finding their mojo on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Bay of Plenty before throwing down the gauntlet to other qualifiers the following day with a 3-1 result against Central Otago and pipping powerhouses North Harbour 1-0 in the afternoon to finish on the top of the table.
They beat Waikato 1-0 in the quarter-final on Thursday before overwhelming the hosts 3-0 in front of a vociferous crowd of 500, according to manager Rachel Cornwall.