Strong Gisborne component in squad,Sharks come close to big upset

SECOND-BEST RESULT: Central under-18 men finished fourth at the regional hockey tournament in Palmerston North. It was the region’s second-best finish at this tournament. Team members are, back (from left): James Torrie (Gisborne), Felix Förtsch, Levi Loudon, Brendan Payne, Jordan Cohen, William Sutherland, Ryan Gray, Joseph Redpath, Kohere Tupara (Gisborne) and Harry Lawson. Front: Connor Todd, Cameron Gladding, Sean Crook, Sam Davies (captain), Matthew Peel, Grayson McIntyre, Thomas Walshe and Hayden Mullen. Lachlan Vause (Lytton High School) was the non-travelling reserve. Picture supplied

THREE Gisborne players featured in the Central Under-18 women’s hockey team’s best finish at a regional tournament.

Ngahuia Wilson of Gisborne Girls’ High School and twins Cory and Kodi Campbell of GMC were in the squad who finished runners-up to Auckland, after the final was decided on a penalty shoot-out.

The previous best position Central had achieved at this tournament was fifth, last year.

Cory Campbell was in the team’s leadership group, and the Gisborne connection was further solidified with the presence of Henry Mulligan as assistant coach.

Head coach Joe Hanks of Hawke’s Bay and Mulligan targeted a place in the top-four playoffs and assembled a squad who were a mixture of experienced players at this level and young talent. Ten players had been in the 2015 squad and eight were new to this level.

Cory and Kodi Campbell were examples of how a hockey high-performance programme could help players’ development, Mulligan said.

“Cory has been in the under-18 team for three seasons and Kodi, for two,” he said.

“Both girls had exceptional tournaments.”

As one of four key players in the team — the others being skipper Casey Crowley (Taranaki), Emma Rainey (Wanganui) and Olivia Shannon (Hawke’s Bay) — Cory Campbell became the mainstay of the defence. She showed resilience and fitness, and was rested for only 20 minutes during the tournament.

Wilson was one of three 15-year-olds in the squad.

Her development in the lead-up and in the tournament itself was among the pleasing aspects of the campaign, Mulligan said.

A goal against NorthlandShe was used as a “floater” — someone who could play multiple roles in the team — and a goal against Northland was just reward for good performances.

“Her performances at the tournament bode well for her future in the game,” he said.

Central got a wake-up call two weeks before the tournament when games against Midlands and Capital indicated they still had a lot of work to do.

At the tournament, they lost their first pool game — against Auckland — 5-2, but the coaches and managers attributed the scoreline to nerves, and saw enough to convince them the team would be a threat to their rivals.

Central won their next two pool games — 5-2 against North Harbour and 6-2 against Northland — to qualify for post-pool play. This meant they had achieved their minimum goal of reaching the top-four playoffs.

But as they were ranked bottom of the top-four playoff pool, they had to beat both Canterbury and Capital — who had shown strong form in pool play — to reach the final.

This they did, beating Canterbury 6-3 and Capital 5-4.

Canterbury started fast and led 2-0 after 15 minutes, but Central pulled a goal back before halftime.

Refocused at the break, Central equalised early in the second half and from there lifted to finish 6-3 victors.

Capital, too, dominated the early stages of their game against Central and scored in the first five minutes, but it was 3-3 at the end of a close-fought first half.

Refocusing pays dividendsAgain refocused at the break, Central scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Ten minutes from time, Capital scored their fourth goal, which led to some frantic play as Central defended their lead.

In the final, Central dominated the opening exchanges but Auckland opened the scoring, from a penalty corner in the ninth minute.

Auckland went two up immediately after halftime. Central scored soon after but Auckland regained their two-goal cushion 20 minutes from time.

Central finished strongly and with six minutes to go had scored the goals to bring them level.

Auckland repelled attack after attack in the final minutes. Central’s last chance to score from open play came 12 seconds from the end, but the last Auckland defender made a crucial intercept.

The drawn result at the end of normal time meant a penalty shoot-out, which Auckland won 3-1.

Mulligan said players, coaches and managers showed enormous dedication. Many of the training sessions and games were held in Palmerston North, and pre-tournament games were played in Taupo.

The contribution of the Gisborne players to both the men’s and women’s u18 teams was a source of great pride, he said.

It took dedication and commitment to travel to training out of Gisborne most weekends during the eight-week campaign. And the players had brought back to t heir club teams much of what they had learned.

Players in the u18 women’s team were encouraged to play a “no-fear” style of hockey based on positive, fast attack, and they showed a “huge amount of self-belief and dogged determination” to come back from deficits in the playoff games and final, Mulligan said.

The use of video and statistical analysis in the formation of game plans showed how important it was for technical tools and resources to be available to advance the game in Gisborne.

Mulligan said it was important that players be encouraged to continue on the pathways provided through Poverty Bay’s association with Central Hockey.