Wanganui smash 'em again

Wanganui players Cole Brasting (left),TomAdkins, Joseph Redpath and their teammates have been on a scoring spree to lead PoolBat the National Under-15 Championships in Hamilton.

Eighteen unanswered goals in three matches have propelled the Wanganui Under-15 hockey boys into the quarter-finals of the national championships in Hamilton.

Buoyed by 6-nil thrashings of Tauranga and Manawatu in their first two games, Wanganui only needed to beat Marlborough yesterday morning to win Pool B and secure a spot in the quarter-finals beginning tomorrow.

Held to nil-all in the first half by Marlborough, the Wanganui team then went on a scoring spree, slotting six goals in 20 minutes in the second spell for another 6-0 win.

Coach Andrew Spence said Marlborough did well to keep his boys in check, but the southerners simply could not match the pressure and power plays his lads imposed on them in the second half.

"Marlborough played well in the first half, in particular their goalie, but they just couldn't withstand the pressure we applied in the second spell. We scored six unanswered goals in 20 minutes and it was all over," Spence said yesterday.

Jordan Cohen and Cole Brasting each scored a brace of goals for Wanganui, while Tyler Nicoll-Hylton and Lane Madams chipped in with another one apiece yesterday.

Spence conceded the competition would get progressively stronger as the tournament progressed, but he had high hopes his boys could achieve their goal of finishing at least in the top four.

"We finished fifth overall in Christchurch last year, but I really do think we have a serious chance of bettering that and even winning the tournament. The boys are really confident and deserve to be," Spence said.

Wanganui meet Waikato, who finished second in Pool D, this afternoon and Spence believes they are "very beatable".

"If the boys play the way they did today we can win this."

The match starts at 2.45pm at the Gallagher Hockey Centre in Hamilton.