HOCKEY: A good match spoilt

ANENDRA SINGH
There's nothing sadder in sport then watching an evenly contested match deteriorate.
It's hard enough with a person in the middle controlling a game but when there's two of them it's logicial to assume the game should flow flawlessly.
In the crucial Mid Central League men's hockey match between Akina Rovers Tui and College A on Saturday in Napier the fans at Kelt Capital Hockey Stadium must have wondered why some players lost the plot.
The Tuis ran on to Cape Physio Turf at Park Island aware that a win against league leaders College, of Palmerston North, was essential if they were going to have a comfortable passage to the play-offs.
With captain/coach Todd Astill marshalling the boys from the sweeper's position, the hosts did well to have the upper hand on an aggressive College in the 2-all stalemate, but perhaps disappointing that they didn't win it.
With College left-wing Ben Molloy, right half Nick Ling and right inner Andrew Gifkins, exposing Tuis defence, the visitors should have been at least two goals up had it not been for goalkeeper Jared "JP" Priest's boots and gloves.
However, it was the Tuis who drew first blood in the 25th minute when right-inner Chris Ryan slipped the ball past Brett Garrett in the other goal from a counterattack after latching on to a loose ball following a goalmouth melee.
Tuis centre forward Gabe Rawcliffe and right wing Brad Keats had the fans groaning a couple of times soon after when right half Grant Fortune, centre half Malcolm Sutherland (pictured above) and left half Reagan Loach struck a chord.
Astill and centre centreback Tim Mason, on the other hand, absorbed Molloy and College centre forward Daryl Morris' attacks.
Trouble broke out in the 33rd minute when College lefthalf Hayden Richards took a free shot when referee Matt Ives pinged Sutherland for a foul just inside Tuis' half.
Richards rifled a shot but it had clearly hit Astill's stick and deflected into goal past a diving Priest.
Running back to their zone, College players celebrated but referee Murray Richardson, from a handy position outside the circle, brought the deflection to Ives' attention and the goal was disallowed.
College threw their sticks down in disgust and Richards carried on grilling ref Richardson at the start of the next 35 minutes of play.
Recovering from a week-long flu bug, Sutherland, 42, told SportToday he had played the ball on to Richards' foot and thought the free hit was his, but the ref thought otherwise.
"The refs didn't make right calls all the time but they were consistent on both sides. They weren't going to change anything, so there was no need to get chippy with them," said the 42-year-old engineer, who has been playing for Akina for more than two decades.
However, he felt it was vital for refs to get their calls right inside the circle.
Tui's substitution of skilful Rawcliffe was questionable considering left wing Zion Akonga and left inner Callum Bailey looked out of sorts in the first half.
College equalised in the 44th minute from Molloy after sliding and helping on a pass from centre half Rob Belchamber just outside the circle.
A stunned Tuis didn't waste time and almost immediately struck back, 2-1, from Sutherland, who received a well-laid up cross from Astill from a penalty corner.
With Rawcliffe back on, Akonga and Bailey on the left flank started firing.
Belchamber, who had hotly protested to Richardson about Sutherland's goal, appeared to be spoiling for a fight. He came off second best in the 49th minute when the ref flashed him a yellow card for a blatant foul on Keats.
Akonga then showed some deft stick work, laying up balls that went begging in the danger zone.
In the 61st minute, College centre forward Morris almost played a cricket leg glance for a 2-all draw from a waist-high but safe ball following a goalmouth melee.
College tried to nail a winner but Ryan and Priest put their bodies on the line for what College coach Dave Watson described as a "fair result".
However, Watson was less complimentary towards the refs, claiming his players weren't "whingeing" but were instead frustrated with the refs' inconsistency.
The Tuis had to use alternative black-and-white strips in the umpteenth hour after their traditional blue strips clashed with those of College.
Bay Independent beat Broadway 4-0 in Palmerston North.