Dalefield rocketed to the lead in the Wellington premier division women's hockey competition when they defeated Hutt 4-1 in a catch-up game played at Clareville on Tuesday, and guaranteed themselves a semi-final spot in the process. The victory followed closely on the heels of a commanding 8-0 win over Harbour City-Tawa last Sunday and left Dalefield on 41 competition points from their 13 matches, two points ahead of second placed Eastern Hutt who have played 14 matches. Then come Hutt 33 (13 games), Indians 32 (13 games), Victoria University 29 (13 games) and Harbour City-Tawa 2 (14 games). The last goal scored by Dalefield against Hutt on Tuesday was notable for the fact it was their 50th of the season. Nearest to them in that category is Eastern Hutt who have scored 44 and Indians who have scored 42. With Hutt having beaten on them on the only previous occasion they had met in 2006, Dalefield went into their latest match determined to reverse that result and they did it in style. The first half produced just the one goal, to Karen James, while Wendy Hull, Thandi Grebe and Janeen Bruce, all scored in the second spell. Coach Kim Henson was not only delighted by Dalefield's winning margin but by the slickness in a performance which he rated as their best of the season. "The (Hutt) are a very good side and you don't beat them by three goals without producing a top effort," he said. "They probably had as much of the game as us but we made more of our scoring chances." Dalefield will play Victoria University at home on Saturday and Hutt in a second catch-up game in Wellington next Monday night.
