Wairarapa U-13s win glory

THE Wairarapa under-13 boys development hockey side upset the odds when they won their Curtis Cup tournament at Wanganui.
They beat Hutt Valley 2-1 in a nail-biting final, a surprise result considering Hutt Valley had beaten them twice in two previous meetings
Easy wins in pool play against Rangitikei (5-0) and Taranaki (5-1) got Wairarapa off to a flying start, but after a loss to Hutt Valley they had to beat Hawke's Bay to make it through to the final.
With the Bay also having beaten them twice in pre-tournament games, Wairarapa were the underdogs, but with a stirring pre-match speech from coach Dave Finlayson ringing in their ears they produced a splendid performance.
Wairarapa were 2-0 up after just 10 minutes, but Bay came back to level the score. However, that was only a minor hiccup for Wairarapa as they powered away over the last 15 minutes to win 5-2.
If the semi-final saw Wairarapa produce their best attacking effort of the season, the final against Hutt Valley was won through magnificent defence. Wairarapa scored the only goal of the first half, but Hutt Valley equalised early in the second spell before Wairarapa secured what was to the winning goal midway through that half.
For most of the remainder of the game Wairarapa had to withstand a barrage of attacks from Hutt Valley and this they did.
Manager Brett Dymond said the Curtis Cup success was a tribute to Wairarapa's teamwork with Cody Kenavan being an inspirational captain. Outstanding on defence were Joseph Jury and Utah Walker and Andrew Collerton-McKay scored seven of their team's 18 goals. Other scorers were Cody Kenavan 4, Ryan Brown 3, Bradley Annear 2, Brady Green 1 and Fraser Dymond 1.
The Wairarapa under-13 B girls hockey team have won their Rawleigh trophy tournament for the first time in nine years.
They beat Central Hawke's Bay (5-0), Hawke's Bay (1-0) and Horowhenua (5-0) in pool play and drew with Manawatu 0-0.
Wairarapa then defeated Hutt Valley 2-0 in the semis and won the grand final against Central Hawke's Bay 3-1.
Here too teamwork was the secret to success with Shannon Campbell, Morgan Percy and Nicole Schaef impressing on attack and captain Rebecca Thompson and Abby Renall spearheading the defence Percy deservedly won the player of the day award on finals day.
Wairarapa won all their quadrangular tournaments leading into the Rawleigh trophy and their overall stats were 13 games played, 12 won, one draw and no losses.They scored 42 goals and conceded just six.
The Wairarapa under-11 girls hockey team placed a creditable fifth at their tournament in Napier.
They opened with a 4-0 loss to Hawke's Bay but improved sharply to draw 0-0 with Wellington development.
A 1-0 defeat by Taranaki followed and then in the cross over games Wairarapa beat Manawatu1-0 and Wellington development 2-1.
Sixth was the placing earned by the Wairarapa under-11 boys team at their hockey tournament at New Plymouth.
They started with a 4-1 loss to Hawke's Bay in a game where two penalty strokes were conceded. Joseph Milburn scored the Wairarapa goal and player of the game was Jamie McAnulty.
A 1-0 draw by Horowhenua followed with Josh Cadwallader scoring for Wairarapa and Josh McKay being named player of the day and then came a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Taranaki A.
Goals to Daniel Marfell (2), Joseph Milburn (3) and Zac Caldwell gave Wairarapa an impressive 6-2 win over Manawatu in the first of the cross over games with Milburn the player of the day
Then came the playoff for fifth and sixth with Hawke's Bay and again the Bay emerged the winners although this time by just 1-0.