Hikurangi and Springfield fight out tough draw in women's prem hockey

Hikurangi and Springfield fought out a 2-2 draw in their premier women's hockey match on Saturday. Photo / file

Hikurangi scored a late goal to earn a celebrated 2-all draw with Springfield in their premier women's hockey match on Saturday.

Springfield started the game strongly and had the better of the first half but the experienced Hikurangi players who were stepping up from reserve grade helped Hikurangi control the second half.

"Springfield did play better than us in those first two quarters but our girls had the legs to carry on and we kept doing the running," Hikurangi coach Roland Price said.

Down 2-1 at half time, Hikurangi came out after the break and used their strong midfield players to dictate the game.

"We were able to dominate the middle of the field and then cause a lot of turnovers inside their half so we could attack the ball a lot more," Price said.

"When Springfield did break away they weren't getting into the circle very often we were able to stop it, which is an experience thing too," Price said.

Earning a penalty corner late in the final quarter, the cool heads of Hikurangi stepped up and they converted to draw level.

The draw will be a confidence booster for a Hikurangi side who so far this season has only had close losses.

"We were more than happy with that, a draw is a win for us," Price said.

In the other premier women's match, Maungakaramea beat Whangarei Girls' High School 2-1 in an end to end game.

In the premier men's competition, Mangapai and Whangarei Boys' High School played out a dramatic 4-all draw on Friday night.

Mangapai were up 2-1 when their goalkeeper was injured, allowing Boys' High to slot in three goals, before a heroic fightback from Mangapai with 11 field players saw them draw level again with less than a minute to go.

Springfield beat Bream Bay 4-2 in the other premier men's match played on Saturday.