North Harbour will be looking for something much better when they square off against Auckland in the first of tomorrow's men's national hockey league semifinals.
Harbour ended round-robin play as top qualifier but were far from convincing in beating lowly Southern 3-1 yesterday.
In direct contrast to last season when
they turned it on to win their last round-robin game, the Dave Kosoof side struggled at the National Stadium.
After taking the lead with a fourth minute Lloyd Stephenson stroke, North Harbour did not increase their lead until Shaun Barnett cleaned up after a 58th minute penalty corner had not been cleared.
Southern's Matthew Young scored from open play with three minutes to go only to see Barnett grab his second a minute later.
Auckland scored their fifth win of the season beating fifth-placed Central 4-1 in the last of yesterday's four matches. Mick Wilson's goal kept Central in it at halftime but Auckland pulled away for their expected win.
Three goals in a two-minute burst carried Canterbury clear of Northland. Ahead 5-0 at halftime, Canterbury added only one in the second half as they confirmed their second place.
Wellington snapped their surprise two-match losing streak with a thumping 8-0 win over bottom-placed Midlands. Led by a five-goal haul from Joel Baker, Wellington showed a return to their best and gave a hint they may still be the team to beat.
Australian captain Brent Livermore again provided the spark as the hosts built on their 3-0 halftime lead. Canterbury meet Wellington in tomorrow's late semifinal in what should be a cracker.
The women's playoffs take centre stage today, while off-field, the New Zealand players of the year will be named at a function this afternoon.
