North Harbour teams got up over Auckland in the first weekend of the national hockey league, but overall honours went south.
Wellington lead the men's competition with two wins and Canterbury enjoyed a clean sweep in the women's.
The North Harbour women's side redeemed Saturday's loss to Central with alast-minute 2-1 win over Auckland in Albany yesterday.
Harbour moved the ball far more proficiently than they had the day before. Australian midfielder Michaela Mihailou was a standout for Harbour, as was keeper Bianca Russell. Kim Green also had a steady game. For Auckland, youngsters Katie Glynn and Melissa Johnson played well.
Auckland got off to a great start on Saturday with an 8-1 romp over Southern. Lizzie Ryan and Krystal Forgesson both scored hat-tricks.
Defending champions Wellington got an early wake-up call yesterday, going down 5-0 to Canterbury.
Canterbury, led by player of the day Jo Galletly's tidy play in the midfield, took advantage of a disjointed Wellington performance, scoring three in the field and two from penalty corners.
In the men's competition, Harbour beat Auckland 3-1 at Pakuranga to add to a 2-1 win over Central on Saturday.
Auckland scored first in the 16th minute from a strong Dharmesh Puna drag flick. Dave Kosoof struck back for Harbour in the 23rd minute with a nice field goal. He scored again midway through the second half, and Sam Bartholomew converted a stroke to seal the game in the 50th minute. Standouts for Harbour included Sinclair Hill in the midfield, Shane Maddaford in defence and keeper Julian Dapena who made some outstanding saves.
Auckland beat Southern 5-1 in their opening match with goals to Puna, David Samuels, Sanjay Patel, Cain Fleming, and Wayne McIndoe.
Wellington lead the men's competition after winning both games. They beat Northland 6-0 on Saturday and then prevailed in a tight game against Canterbury yesterday.
Canterbury had to play catch-up throughout after Wellington went out to an early two-goal lead. The capital side showed pace and flair throughout the match and with Hockeyroos captain Brent Livermore still to join them, look very much like an early title favourite.
