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