Rivals expect tough match

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TE AOWERA and YMP B face off in senior women’s hockey tonight and TA will be out to secure their first victory of the season after two well-earned draws. The match, which starts at 6pm on the LJ Hooker Turf at Harry Barker Reserve, should be close.

“It was 1-1 between them last time but YMP B will be on a high after their win against Girls’ High last weekend,” commentator Tony Scragg said. “TA can do it but they will need to play well.”

Williams Transport Gisborne Girls’ High School and Emerre and Hathaway GMC Gold meet at 7.30pm.

“The students will have to bounce back from their loss last weekend and I expect them to do so,” Scragg said. “Gold will try hard but I think the students will be too good.”

It is clubmate versus clubmate tomorrow night when YMP A men play YMP B at 6pm and the top team will no doubt rack up another big score.

“I expect that match to be fairly one-sided,” Scragg said.

One of the match-ups of the weekend will start at 7.30pm, when THC play Dave Gooch Spray and Signs LOB A.

“That will be a real test for LOB A and I can see only one winning team — THC.”

The three Saturday games all look promising. The women’s match at 1pm between Emerre and Hathaway GMC Green and YMP A will be a beauty.

“YMP A won by a couple of goals last time they met,” Scragg said. “The Green Machine have it in them to go better and I am sure they will have learned from their last encounter with the unbeaten YMP A.”

The match between Ben Holden Fencing Ngatapa and Paikea at 2.45pm has real sting to it.

“We just edged them in the first-round game,” said Scragg, the Ngatapa coach. “Paikea are coming fresh off a bye and have been playing good hockey in the past month.”

The round concludes with the senior men’s match between Gisborne Resene LOB Masters and Gisborne Boys’ High School at 4.30pm.

“It has been one each in terms of results between these two teams this season,” Scragg said. “Boys’ High have grown in stature as a team and I expect it to be close.”