EMERRE and Hathaway GMC Gold beat Te Aowera in the first of the hockey finals last night after an extended penalty shoot-out. The match was played in torrential rain on the LJ Hooker turf at Harry Barker Reserve.
GMC Gold and TA were locked up at nil-all at fulltime ofthe C-grade final, then 1-1 after five strokes each in the shoot-out. Nan Baker scored the winner for the Gold team to win 3-2.
“Both teams had their chances in normal play and it is fair to say Gold had slightly the better of it, with a goal disallowed in normal time,” commentator Tony Scragg said. “Conditions were terrible and it was a credit to both teams that they stuck it out in the torrential rain.”
Scragg said it was a “golden start” to the series of finals.
“We were all so relieved this morning to see the skies clearing after the forecast rain appeared to have passed by. The comment ahead of last night’s C-grade final was that those two teams might have got the better end of the weather. But it has turned out differently and we are all hoping the weather stays fine for the rest of the day so our other finals can be played in much better conditions.”
The finals continued at 11am today with Paikea up against Ben Holden Fencing Ngatapa in the women’s B-grade final. Then the Lytton Old Boys Masters were to take on Gisborne Boys’ High School at 12.45pm to decide the men’s B-grade championship.
The premier finals between YMP A and Emerre and Hathaway GMC Green in the women’s competition and THC and YMP A in the men’s division were to be at 2.30pm and 4.15pm respectively.
