Dalefield have a hard act to follow when they front up to Indians in a Wellington premier division men's hockey match at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington tomorrow.
The 5-2 mauling of the powerful Hutt side at Clareville last weekend certainly had tongues wagging. But the message from player-coach WillieSchaefer at training this week has been to forget the hype and focus on improving the areas in which they came up short.
"It wasn't perfect, not by a long way," Schaefer said of the win over Hutt. "Yes, there were a lot of positives but there's still plenty to work on." Schaefer has been concerned that, in both their matches to date, Dalefield have got their noses in front and then gone off the boil for brief periods.
"It's almost like we panic when we get a lead, we let the intensity slip," he said. "We need to keep our composure better, the whole momentum of games can change so quickly at this level. If you let the opposition get a sniff they can punish you."
Schaefer knows the tightness of the Dalefield defence will be well tested by an Indians line-up which invariably looks to move the ball around and promote their defenders forward in attacking situations. "They are never easy, they tend to come at you from everywhere," Schaefer said of an Indians team who have drawn both their matches to date this season.
Impressive on defence for Dalefield last weekend was veteran Greg Mason, coming out of retirement to fill in for young Mitchell Blackwood who had a tennis commitment. Blackwood will be back on deck tomorrow but Mason's services will again be needed because of the unavailability of his brother Chris.
There is a strong possibility too that Dalefield will have to do without striker Jesse Workman who has been named in the New Zealand Maori men's team to play Australian Country at Rotorua.
