Hockey: Wellington downs Canterbury with a capital defensive game

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The Canterbury men's hockey team were brought back to earth with a thump, going down 7-2 to Wellington in the feature third-round national league match.

In a well-worked strategy, the Wellington defenders nullified the threat posed by penalty corner drag flick expert Hayden Shaw to keep themselves in the game.

Though they forced eight penalty corners in the first half, Canterbury came up empty with their conversion rate. The visitors turned similar opportunities into two goals with James Nation on target.

Ahead 3-0 at halftime, Wellington coasted home with Shaw managing just one second-half goal.

Canterbury's loss, their first in the Lion Foundation-sponsored national league, relegated them to third place behind Auckland and Wellington.

Auckland swamped Northland 7-1 in Whangarei on Saturday. A better second-half effort from the home side was rewarded with their first goal of the season, scored by Robbie Towns, a loan player from Auckland.

A strong defensive game from Northland inside-left David Samuels earned him the man of the match award. Bevan Hari and Mark Lawrence scored two each for Auckland.

At Rosedale Park, North Harbour found winning form for the first time this season to beat Midland Express 5-2.

After an evenly contested opening 20 minutes, Belgian defender Xavier Reckinger opened the scoring with a penalty stroke.

But that halftime lead lasted only a couple of minutes before Blair Hopping, aided by some good work from Australian Luke Judge, grabbed the equaliser after the Harbour defence was caught short following an attacking penalty corner.

Reckinger then showed his drag flick expertise from a penalty corner to re-establish the home team's one-goal advantage. Darren Smith scored from the top of the circle for 3-1 before the visitors closed the gap, with Hopping successful with a deflection from another penalty corner.

Reckinger had his hat-trick with a drag flick from a penalty corner for 4-2. David Kosoof completed the scoring with a well-taken goal after perhaps the best move of the match.

There are no unbeaten women's teams following Wellington's 2-1 loss to Canterbury in the match of the round.

Carol Ward scored both for the home team, one in each half (both from penalty corners). Earlier Tracey Thurston had given the visitors their 21st-minute lead with a well-taken field goal.

North Harbour picked up their first point of the season with a 1-1 home draw against Waikato, and but for a late defensive lapse that allowed Jacqui Forsyth to snatch a late equaliser Harbour would have taken the three points they deserved.

Manawatu joined Wellington and Canterbury at the top of the table with their upset 2-1 away win over Auckland.