Northland reserve hockey back in full swing

Caitlin Morris in action for Old Girls in the opening weekend of the club winter hockey season. Photo/Michael Cunningham

Just a week after the summer competitions finished, the winter season began for clubs in the Northland hockey reserve grades over the weekend.

The same eight sides will contest the reserve A women's grade and in the closest game of the first round, a first-half goal from Whangarei Girls' High School's Emma Illerbrun helped her side secure a 1-0 win over Springfield.

Girls' High coach Alan Moscrip said it was a good even game and was happy to get the win.

"It was a typical first-up game with both teams feeling their way a bit," Moscrip commented.

With just one training session together, Moscrip said his team was made up of "a core of a pretty solid team from last year with just a few added younger ones".

In other matches, defending champions Hikurangi showed they mean business again with a 10-0 win over Mangapai on Friday night.

Kamo High School started strongly against Maungakaramea but a couple of quick goals early in the second half swung the momentum in Maungakaramea's favour and they eventually won 6-1.

Old Girls had a dominant second half to take a 4-0 win over a new look Parihaka side.
In the reserve men's grade, the competition has been reduced from seven teams to six including a newly promoted Whangarei Boys' High School second XI side after they moved up to the premier grade.

The new Boys' High team had a hard first-up match on Thursday against last year's finalists Maungakaramea, eventually going down 4-0.

Hora Hora secured a 5-3 win over Mangapai while Bream Bay beat Springfield 4-1.