Double Olympian Greg Nicol scored four goals as Hawke's Bay's 40-plus men's team maintained their unbeaten run at the National Masters Hockey tournament in the Bay yesterday.
All four of Nicol's goals in the 6-2 win against Waikato at the Unison Stadium in Hastings came from penalty corners, three ofthem drag flicks. Nick Cornwall and Paul Smelling scored the Bay's other goals in their third consecutive victory.
"It was a must-win game for Waikato and they put us under a lot of pressure. Their half court defence worked well and the score was one-all at halftime ... we won ugly," Bay player-coach Graeme Findlay explained.
Along with former South Africa international Nicol, midfielder Shaun Basher was also prominent for the Bay.
It was a tough day for Hawke's Bay's other men's teams with the 55-plus side losing 7-0 to Wellington and the 35-plus side losing 2-1 to Counties-Manukau in Napier. Injuries took their toll on the 55-plus side and they were down to nine players within the first 10 minutes.
Ben Chorley scored the only goal for the 35-plus team. Their score was 1-all at halftime and Counties-Manukau scored the winning goal with five minutes to go.
Midfielder Aaron McWilliams was the best of their players.
Hawke's Bay's 40-plus women were also unbeaten courtesy of a 1-0 win against Waikato in Napier. Dominie Cresswell secured the victory with a penalty corner after the final whistle.
