Hockey: Hikurangi find form in second spell

Maungakaramea's Jaimee Whittaker gets her pass away as Old Girls' Gemma Luas swoops in. Photo/John Stone

A half time rev-up spurred Hikurangi into action and to a 5-2 win in their premier women's hockey match against Mangapai on Saturday.

Despite dominating territory, Hikurangi were unable to convert in the first half and the teams went into the break with the scores level at nil-all.

Hikurangi coach Roland Price admitted his team did not make smart decisions in front of goal in the first half and that's what they talked about at halftime.

"The scoreboard was the biggest pressure we had on us and I think that is why we lost the structure in the circle, we were in too much of a hurry to score goals," Price said.

Price told his side at half time to be more composed in front of goal and, with that in mind, they came out firing to start a third quarter blitz that paid dividends.

Hikurangi scored in the first minute of the second half but Mangapai got a breakaway soon after to level the scores.

Keeping their composure, Hikurangi struck back immediately before scoring another two well worked goals in the third quarter to lead 4-1.

The game slowed again in the final quarter but both sides added one more to their tally to take the score to 5-2.

In other premier matches on Saturday, Springfield continued their dominance on the competition with a 4-1 win over Whangarei Girls' High School while Old Girls beat Maungakaramea 4-2.

In the premier men's matches, Mangapai beat Bream Bay 4-0 on Friday and Springfield beat Maungakaramea 4-1 on Saturday to remain on top of the table.