Mount Maunganui boys' First XI hockey team won the 2015 Premier title.
The Mount 1st XI Hockey Boys are the new 2015 Premier Hockey League Champions. They won the finals on Wednesday night, led by captain Reece McKenzie, in an exciting match against Tauranga Boys' White.
The sidelines were filled with a good crowd from both sides. The Whites started off offensively
and it looked like the Mount weren't ready for it yet. Mistakes were made. The Whites took an early lead 1-0. Half way through the first half things came together for Mount. They started to penetrate more into the Whites' defence. An equalising goal followed. 1-1 by Blair McKenzie.
The Mount started the second half solid and strong. Chances were created and this was rewarded with McKenzie scoring again for 2-1. The Whites put the pressure on the Mount defence and a couple of times came very close to the equaliser, if it was not for Baily Harman stopping a high-speed ball on the goal line and goalie George Maltby making some incredible saves to keep Mount ahead.
Four minutes before the end Mount made a quick counter-attack to score after a hat-trick by Blair McKenzie. With only seconds on the clock Whites scored from a penalty corner but Mount won the Championship with a 3-2 victory.
Mount Boys lost all three pool matches and were dead last at the bottom of the table five weeks ago. With only two more pool matches to go, a semifinal and a final, the only theoretical chance to become champion was winning four matches in a row. Coaches Daryl Edgecombe and Tony Cowbourne inspired the team each week. Everything came down to working as a team.
