Hockey: Old Girls win behind third-quarter onslaught

Old Girls had a strong performance in the latest round of premier hockey action. Photo / Getty Images

A third-quarter blitz sealed a 4-1 win for Old Girls over Springfield in their premier women's hockey match.

Old Girls started the game strongly and went one up early when Gabrielle Smith converted a chance which started from a counter-attack.

The Friday night match was closer than the final score would suggest with most of the game played in the midfield.

Both teams knew they couldn't allow the other to dictate play so there were plenty of turnovers as they turned up the pressure in midfield.

"We knew that they had critical players so we had to ensure if their core players were going to get the ball we had to be on them really quickly so they couldn't make the next pass," Old Girls coach Alan Lints said.

Five minutes before halftime Springfield's Jodie Nichol levelled the score when she got a free shot away in the circle.

Less than a minute later Josefina Maratea restored the lead for Old Girls when she fired the ball into the net with a sharp reverse stick shot.

Old Girls really made the most of their opportunities in the third quarter thanks to a quick double from Laura Douglas to extend their lead to 4-1.

"For us the third quarter is important, it is usually the decisive quarter," Lints said, so he was happy his team could deliver the goals at the critical time.

Springfield tried hard to get back in the game but they just couldn't convert the opportunities they had.

In the other premier women's match, Maungakaramea had to fight hard on a sodden turf to beat Hikurangi 1-0 on a wet Saturday afternoon.

In the men's competition, Mangapai were too good for Bream Bay, coming out 4-0 winners while Maungakaramea scored in the dying seconds of the game to earn a 2-all draw with Springfield.