Champs on fire

ONE-WAY TRAFFIC: In last year’s Poverty Bay premier club hockey grand final, YMP A beat THC in a penalty shootout. They made no race of their 2019 round 1 match-up on Saturday, whitewashing THC 8-0. YMP skipper Kohere Tupara is pictured under pressure from Tamanay Tuhou. Picture by Paul Rickard

DEFENDING premier champions YMP A stamped their authority on Poverty Bay mens’ club hockey with an eight-goal thumping of their main rivals on Saturday.

YMP took THC to the cleaners 8-0 on the back of hat-tricks from Jarrod Carter and Heath Tupara. “It was an empathic victory, and to be honest we were very surprised to win by such a margin,” said YMP skipper Kohere Tupara.

“We played a really good team game, with excellent inter-passing, and our defence was amazing.”

They had never held THC scoreless, he said.

“We are definitely stoked to win the way we did but the title will not be decided until the end of the season.”

The standout result in the women’s competition was Ben Holden Fencing Ngatapa’s 5-1 win over YMP B.

Ngatapa went in as favourites and put an exclamation mark on that with a deserved victory.

Emily Willock and Jessie McNeil each got a brace of goals and Jamie Tombleson completed the scoring.

Other results across the men’s and women’s divisions went the way of the form book.

YMP A rattled the back of the JNL Paikea net six times without reply.

Nancy-Rae Tarawa scored half the goals for the defending champions, whose attack probably played within themselves a little.

GMC Green were in a class of their own in a 14-0 demolition of GMC Gold.

Mother and daughter Louise (3 goals) and Kelsey Teneti (4) contributed half the goals, and Caroline Maclaurin also scored four.

Amber Dental Gisborne Girls’ High produced a polished performance against Roseland Tavern Te Aowera.

The students won 8-0, with Brooke Willock (3) and Madison Savage (2) the pick of their goalscorers.

Sophie Petro, Oaklea Bowden-Morris and Jessie Kapene also got on the scoresheet.

Gisborne Boys’ High School were due a winning performance and delivered it 3-2 over YMP B.

As the score indicated, it was tight throughout.

Oliver Cranefield, Lachie Falloon and Flynn Cave scored for the students; Joshua Lardelli and Sean Gooch for YMP.

Lytton Old Boys Masters were too good for LOB NZ Fruits. Jayden McKay, Matt Skuse and son Jed Skuse scored in a 3-1 win.

The Masters have been playing well and the victory complemented that.