Supporters in for a treat, with thrills

ON THE MOVE: Lytton Old Boys’ Jayden McKay looks to take the ball from YMP A’s Gareth Knox. YMP will look to continue their winning start to the season against Gisborne Boys’ High School tonight.Picture by Paul Rickard

by Scraggy

Local hockey supporters are in for a treat as Gisborne Boys’ High School take on YMP A in what promises to be a thrilling match at 6.30pm tonight.

Both teams have had a win this season, and will look to build on their momentum in this game.

Boys’ High started their season in emphatic fashion, with a 9-1 victory over YMP B.

Their attacking play was particularly impressive, and their strikers scored freely throughout the game. They will want to extend their goal-scoring spree into this match.

YMP A started their season with a solid 3-0 win against Waituhi. Their defensive effort in keeping a clean sheet was particularly impressive.

The midfielders were also instrumental in YMP’s victory. They controlled play well and created chances for their strikers. Expect defending champions YMP to keep their unbeaten run intact.

Waituhi and Resene LOB Masters meet at 6pm tomorrow. Both sides have had a loss this season, and both will want to bounce back with a win.

Masters must tighten their defence and focus on creating more chances if they are to get a positive result after last week’s heavy loss.

Waituhi held YMP A in the second half last week. Tomorrow they will want a strong start.

This promises to be a fascinating match with plenty of drama and excitement.

Last week, LOB Traktion beat LOB Masters 14-0. At 7.30pm tomorrow, they play YMP B, who lost 9-1 to Boys’ High.

LOB will want to build on their impressive form, while YMP B will be out to bounce back. Both teams have plenty of talent at their disposal, but on form LOB must be regarded as favourites.

All the local women’s teams take the stage on the Hain Farming turf on Saturday.

At 12.30pm, GMC Green take on Te Aowera. The green machine got the perfect start last week, picking up three competition points in a 5-0 win against Paikea.

While GMC’s recipe for success could be “more of the same”, Te Aowera will look to bounce back from their 6-0 loss to GMC Kowhai. Tighter defence and the creation of more opportunities in attack will be on their menu of work-ons for this match.

The 2pm clash between YMP B and GMC Kowhai could be one of the games of the weekend after Kowhai’s win against Te Aowera.

This match is likely to be a tactical battle. Both teams like to play a high-tempo game, with lots of attacking play and quick counter-attacks. Either team could win.

At 3.30pm, Zeafuit Ngatapa — coming off a draw with Gisborne Girls’ High School last week — take on arch-rivals Paikea.

Both sides have new players in the mix and are still working on attacking combinations.

Paikea will call on the defensive qualities shown in last week’s first-half performance against GMC Green to keep the Ngatapa attack at bay.

The final game of the round, YMP A versus Gisborne Girls’ High, will be played on the turf under full lights.

The YMP A attackers were out of sorts last week, but the team still beat YMP B 3-0. Expect them to come out firing on all cylinders in this match.

The Girls’ High plan will be to keep a tight grip on YMP’s attacking play and exploit any weaknesses in their defence.