Wanganui women dominate

Wanganui women's hockey representative team gave the local scene a boost at the weekend with a 6-3 win over Hawke's Bay at Gonville on Sunday.

On a weekend when the representative men were beaten 4-2 by their Hawke's Bay counterparts, while the club sides were beaten or held to draws in the Manawatu Club Competition the day before, the women streamrolled the visitors in the second stanza of their Central Hockey League clash.

"It was a brilliant result. They were down 2-0 and then they came back," said Hockey Wanganui's Ian Glenny.

Hawke's Bay regrouped and scored again for a 3-1 advantage, but from there Wanganui owned the turf.

"They completely dominated the second half. They just forced Hawke's Bay into repetitive mistakes," said Glenny.

"The defence from Wanganui in the second half was outstanding."

Young teenager Emma Rainey shone with two goals, including an excellent one-on-one effort against the Hawke's Bay keeper.

There was also a comeback in the men's game as Wanganui closed the distance from a 2-0 deficit, but Hawke's Bay held their nerve and marked up well to deny the home side.

Coach Langley Atkinson praised keeper Andrew Jurgens for stopping as many as he did, while Martin Atkinson coming into the midfield at halftime made a big difference to Wanganui's structure.

Martin Atkinson has been selected in the Central Under-21 representative team, while teammates Kane Watkins and Josh Rainey have been named as non-travelling reserves.

Turn to Page 25 for more on Wanganui club hockey results.