HOCKEY - Maungakaramea on way to better things

Maungakaramea put their poor start to the season behind them with a 4-2 win over Bream Bay United in a Northland premier men's hockey match on Saturday.
The team is still a long way from emulating their champion side from last year but moved a step closer to that sort of form with their first victory of the season.
The team's old hands like Kane Gillingham, Alan Ford, Carlo Aprea and Graeme Bint were instrumental in calming the efforts of the younger players who in the end made the difference in the game.
The first two goals were set up by breaks down the right flank by Ian Page and were finished by Ryan Cocking and Keiran Lynn respectively.
The two early goals put Bream Bay on the back foot and they were forced to take the game to their opposition.
The pressure they exerted finally paid off toward the end of the spell with a goal by Andrew Ferguson, set up by a pinpoint Shane Munford pass.
Bream Bay failed to maintain the same intensity for the rest of the spell and were punished for not clearing their circle by Carlo Aprea, whose strike made it 3-1 to Maungakaramea in the final minute of the half.
Both goalkeepers - Bream Bay's Graeme Helleur and Maungakaramea's Jareth Cocking - made good saves before a fluid run by Bream Bay's Michael Scott was capped off by a good finish to make it 3-2 midway through the second spell.
It was left to another of the new players to finish the scoring with Ryan Cocking adding the final goal.
Cocking, who spent a couple of games warming the bench for the side late last year, made the most of a sharp chance to add to his early goal and give his side a two-goal buffer for the final 10 minutes.
On Friday evening, Currie Electrical Springfield stopped Mangapai making a break on the rest of the field by beating them 3-2.
Mangapai team made a very good start and John Campbell's goal late in the first quarter gave them the advantage at the break.
Springfield's winner with less than three minutes left on the clock, again from a penalty corner, gave Springfield a deserved win.
In the women's premier competition, Maungakaramea got home against Hikurangi-Parihaka 3-2 in a thriller, with Hikurangi taking an early lead through Michelle King before Natalie Child levelled and Jodie Nicols scored to put Maungakaramea 2-1 up at the break.
Kylie Henderson equalised for Hikurangi before Kerry Linklater scored the winner with a brilliantly taken drag-flick.
A hat-trick to Charlotte Harrison helped her side to a 6-0 win over Kamo High School in her final game for Girls High for a while. The young striker goes into Black Sticks training later this week to prepare for the Australian test series next month.
Coach Angeline Waetford will also be missing Kelsey Dunn and Jasmine McQuinn next week as they prepare to play for the Northern region in the under-21 tournament in Nelson next week.
In the final match MoreFM Old Girls beat United-Kawakawa 2-0 in a closely-contested encounter.