The Wanganui Under-15 girls hockey team has clinched a top four spot for the playoffs after a successful start to the National Under-15 Girls' Championships in Napier.
In their final pool match yesterday morning the girls' side had a tough 2-1 victory against Waikato B to give them second place in
pool A.
They will now face the top qualifier of pool B, Wellington B, today in the crossover semifinal.
Manager Jo Thompson said the team did not mind who they faced in the playoffs; they just had to take whoever they got in the top four.
"[We're] always confident ... we're peaking at the right part of the tournament," she said.
The Wanganui girls have been the only team so far to have scored a goal against runaway leaders Canterbury B at the tournament, so they knew they could handle the other teams, she said.
The team had found themselves a goal down early in the first half but fought back to level the score through a goal by Sarah Kaukia.
Jess Watkin then scored a goal with a few minutes remaining on the clock to win the game. Waikato made a few tactical changes but Wanganui was able to counter them, Thompson said.
After a hard loss first-up against Canterbury B (6-1), the girls' team has not dropped a game.
They had wins over West Coast (2-1), Manawatu B (1-0), Waikato B and a draw with Thames Valley (2-2).
The Under-15 boys team, whose tournament is being playing in Levin, did not have the same fortune.
They started the tournament with a 3-1 win over Manawatu B but have since lost to North Harbour (9-1), Wairarapa B (1-0), West Coast (6-1) and Wellington B (4-0).
Boys' team manager Dave Andrews conceded it had been a tough week since the early win.
"It's sort of been downhill from there and we're basically in a must-win situation," he said.
"It's not the best situation to be in, but that's tournaments."
