The Dalefield women's hockey side rebounded from their first up loss to grab a confidence boosting 1-1 draw against competition high-flyers Victoria University in Wellington on Saturday. After falling 2-0 at the hands of Wellington premier division debutants Karori two weeks ago the side was looking to reassert itself and couldhave won the match had they made the most of their chances. Dalefield took the lead thanks to Ana-May Playle and held the advantage through to the break. However, a defensive mishap in the second spell left a University player unmarked and in space in the circle and they slotted home the equaliser. "We played really well, we played a good full game which is very pleasing and we even had our chances to take it," Dalefield coach Rochelle Retter said. "The girls are feeling so much more confident now that they've shown they can play a good game of hockey and the competition is wide open at the moment." Jade Forman and Jess Davies had strong games while Retter was quick to highlight the experience brought to the midfield by the return of Karen Jones. "Karen played in the side last year and was not going to play this year but hopefully we can have her for a few more games, she brought a great deal of composure to the side which was what was needed." However, the tough season continued for the Dalefield men's side who crashed to a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Harbour City Tawa. Coach Mark Fenwick had targeted the game for a win but his side was dealt a blow by a Tawa side clearly stung by the 10-1 thrashing they received in their season opener against Indians. "We weren't as desperate as they were, they really wanted the ball where as we hung back a lot and weren't as intense and in the end that was probably the difference," he said. "We actually played pretty well, we just made too many basic handling errors." The men were in the match at halftime trailing 2-1 thanks to a well-constructed Greg Mason goal but were hindered with an ankle injury to key defender Chamus Wyatt and the sending off of a player for a second dangerous infringement. Standout for the Wairarapa side was Geoff Ewington who controlled possession brilliantly through the midfield. "The hard part for us is that we need to lift our basic skills because they're just not cutting it in this grade," Fenwick said. "It's a tough competition and we need to step it up to compete."
