Wanganui teams dip out for 2nd year

SOLE GOAL: Collegians' Jessica Watkin, left, scored her team's goal in the draw with HSHC Rebels last week. PHOTO/FILE A-180715WCBRCHOC02

For the second year in a row, no Wanganui teams will feature in the Manawatu Division 1 semifinals after defaults and good play by the Palmerston North Girls' High School team has left remaining hope Collegians out in the cold.

Collegians defaulted their second Wednesday night game this week to the undefeated High School Hockey Club, following on from their 1-1 draw with the HSHC Rebels on July 29 in another midweek catchup game.

Meanwhile, PNGHS took their default win over the Tech College Old Boys women on Saturday and followed up with an emphatic 7-3 win over PN Marist on Sunday.

The results take the schoolgirls up at least four points clear of Collegians on the table in fourth place, with one round of games remaining this weekend.

In the 1-1 draw with the Rebels at the Twin Turfs, Jessica Watkin scored Collegians' goal from a stroke, but neither team could get the matchwinner from the other occasions they opened the field up.

The night match was hard, but clean.

"It was a really good game, we had heaps of opportunities but couldn't get it in," said coach Jan Dixon.

"The Rebel team's playing nice hockey now."

One of the Rebels is the TCOB men's coach Colleen Baylis.

"It's always a good game playing Collegians," Baylis said.

"Some of the [other] teams can get quite catty, a little stressful at times."

The visitors were unlucky they could not get another goal through the leadup work from the likes of Emma Rainey, Baylis said.

Her TCOB men's team played College at the Twin Turfs on Monday night, losing 7-2.

Conceeding the first goal after 10 minutes, TCOB replied with a scoring burst, as teenagers Ben Pilet and Ryan Gray scored to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.

However, College scored twice before halftime for a 3-2 lead, and then took the game away in the second half as the undermanned TCOB, with only one reserve, began to run out of legs.

"The first half was incredibly fast paced and I think it took it out of them," said Baylis.

The passing and movement which led to the team's goals was some of the best of the season, knocking the ball around the backfield, but it could not be maintained.

As the centre midfield combination, Pilet and Gray were strong, while defender Matt Ford continued his good form.

TCOB will be back to full strength for their final game, also against College, at Gonville Domain on Saturday.

It is a double header as the TCOB women, aka "Techno" will also play College, while Collegians will rematch Rebels at the Twin Turfs.

Looking to next year, Dixon is facing the possibility that Watkin may soon have to commit fulltime to her burgeoning cricket career, while Aleisha Rainey is off to attend university.

The rest of the schoolgirls in the team should all be back, while Dixon will speak to the veterans about staying on.