HOCKEY - Women thrilled with two wins from two games

Northland women's hockey stocks are riding high after two wins from two games in the opening rounds of the National Hockey League in Hamilton on Saturday.
An upset 4-3 win over last season's runner-up Canterbury in their opening game on Saturday set the balling rolling and yesterday they defeated Southern 2-0 in a less convincing but still dominant display.
With six points on the board the team have reason for optimism. They played some sublime hockey in their win over Canterbury, particularly in the first quarter, where they had the South Islanders reeling at 0-3 down after 15 minutes.
Anna Thorpe (2) and Charlotte Harrison were the scorers but the goals were team goals, apart from Harrison's second, which was scored with some individual brilliance to have the team 4-1 ahead in the 47th minute.
Some questionable defence saw Canterbury close the gap to 3-4 with two quick goals but Northland showed some steel to cling on to their lead in the final 12 minutes.
Team captain Laura Douglas was thrilled with the result but said there was still some work to do, particularly in defence, where more communication was needed.
"We were going pretty well there at 3-0 up and then we let them creep back in by letting in some cheap goals in but we held it together there at the end," she said.
Douglas added there were plenty of positives to take from the game; effective combinations were developing and the team was scoring goals, which was a problem in last year's competition.
"The game was good for our confidence to know that we can hold on to a lead and win when we're ahead, simply by holding on to the ball," she said.
It was the well-rounded look to the team that must have been most satisfying for coach Paul Snelling.
The experience of Jan Rowsell came to the fore in the final 10 minutes where she brought a calming influence as the Canterbury pressure was beginning to cause panic in the ranks. Douglas was another steady hand and was unlucky to have had a goal from a penalty controversially disallowed when the score was 3-1. Tania Crene, Jo McQueen and Kelsey Dunn were excellent going forward, while Jasmin McQuinn and Rhonda Rowsell were the pick of the defenders.
Australian import Shannon Worth was impressive harrying the Canterbury ball carriers in the midfield but struggled at times linking with her forwards.
Northland's 2-0 win over Southern yesterday reminded everyone that there is still a long way to go in the competition.
Northland might have finished the game five or six goals ahead but their finishing was as dreadful as it had been good the day before.
Thorpe and Harrison were again the goalscorers but at least the defence kept its first clean sheet of the competition.