Hawke's Bay striker Olivia Shannon (right) gets on the outside of Queensland defender Siubhan Slater during the challenge. Photo/Warren Buckland
Hawke's Bay striker Olivia Shannon (right) gets on the outside of Queensland defender Siubhan Slater during the challenge. Photo/Warren Buckland
The future of Hawke's Bay women's hockey is in good hands.
The Gary Heal-coached Hawke's Bay under-18 girls invitation side proved this with their 1-all draw against their Queensland counterparts at Napier's Park Island last night. With a 2-1 victory the previous night the Bay won the Queensland Challenge forthe first time in the 10-year history of the fixture.
"I'm so proud of the girls. It's the first time we've only used players from the Bay. Hopefully we can keep it this way again next year. With the good talent we've got coming through from the under-15s we should be able to," Heal said.
His team conceded a goal in the first 40 seconds of the match and trailed 1-0 at halftime. Striker Kaitlin Cotter scored the equaliser with five minutes remaining with a field goal which was well set up by fellow striker Bella Greig.
"After their loss the previous night Queensland came out firing tonight. But our scrambling defence got us back into the game," jubilant Hawke's Bay captain Arabella Sheild said.
Heal admitted the hosts "weren't quite in the zone" for most of the first half.
"However they showed plenty of guts and determination to gain some ascendancy midway through the second half."
While Cotter was outstanding Sheild and Heal agreed it was another outstanding team effort from a side which was unbeaten in three matches against Australian state teams within three days. On Wednesday night they beat New South Wales 12-0.
