Hockey: Egerton's brace puts Auckland through

Auckland player Ryan Archibald collides with Canterbury's George Connell.Photo / Brett Phibbs

Simon Egerton is a prime example of the value of quality imports in the national hockey league.

The English international attacker scored twice yesterday as hockey Challenge Shield leaders Auckland beat Canterbury 3-1 to leave them certain of their semifinal place and one win away from cementing top qualifying spot.

Egerton's brace, both with strong drag flick shots from penalty corners, took him to a personal tally of eight of Auckland's 25 goals.

The only player ahead of him is New Zealand striker Hugo Inglis, who got all three goals for Southern in their 3-2 win over Capital to move to nine of his team's 17.

"We're definitely getting on that roll we've been looking for," Auckland coach James Grant said yesterday. "It took a while to build into it but we feel like we're getting there."

Defending champions Auckland were far too good for Canterbury yesterday.

Dwayne Rowsell put Auckland ahead from a penalty corner and it took Canterbury until midway through the second half to put some heat on international goalkeeper Devon Manchester. Canterbury's goal came from Dutch international Teun Rohof, after a strong run and drive from the right.

Grant reckons Auckland, whose final round-robin game today is against Capital, have held some aces back until the weekend. He doesn't put much store in qualifying top; being in the top four is what matters.

"There's teams you definitely want to avoid, but ultimately there's two cup finals [semi and final] to play."

Capital ruined North Harbour's semifinal hopes with a 3-0 win late in the day.

Auckland's women beat bottom side Southern 2-0, both goals from Alex Hunt, to confirm they will be top qualifiers for the K Cup semifinals on Saturday. However, Midlands kept the heat on for semifinal places courtesy of a 3-1 win over Central.

The competition top scorer Renee Ashton's two goals took her to seven for the tournament. Capital belted Northland 6-1 last night to show their semifinal intentions.

Rain played havoc with the draw yesterday but the makeup of the semifinals won't become clear until the final round-robin games today.