The national under-15 boys championship slipped through Wanganui's fingers after West Coast won a nerve-racking penalty shootout 4-3 following the scoreless deadlock in the final in Hamilton on Saturday.
Having won their five previous matches at the Gallagher Hockey Centre, Wanganui were confident but found the defence-orientated Coasters, covered at
the back by keeper Ben Pratt, were able to grind them down.
"It was heartbreaking stuff," said coach Andrew Spence. "We had people come up from Wanganui to watch, which was appreciated. We were probably the better team but when it came to putting the ball in the back of the net, I think their goalie played very well."
While Wanganui had big 6-0 wins in their pool matches, West Coast were used to close affairs - winning two pool games 2-1 and drawing the third 2-2.
"The West Coast boys were quite big and well conditioned," said Spence.
