Shootout dramas in club hockey thrillers

YMP A’s Maia Rickard has Paikea’s Jessie Duncan in front of her and Jo Cumming giving chase in a Poverty Bay Prem 1 women’s club hockey semifinal on the turf at Harry Barker Reserve on Saturday. YMP won 3-0 to book a place in the final this Saturday. It will be a demanding day for Rickard. She is in the YMP (1) women’s netball team who are in the Premier Grade final at the YMCA on Saturday from 1pm. She will then race over to Harry Barker Reserve for the Prem 1 women’s hockey final against GMC Green at 2.30pm. Rickard is also in the Tūranga Wāhine women’s rugby team for the inaugural North Island Heartland competition, but her Saturday commitments mean she is unable to travel to Te Aroha for their opening game against Thames Valley. Picture by Paul Rickard

Waituhi have made the Poverty Bay Prem 1 men’s final for the first time since 2008 after winning a thrilling penalty shootout on Saturday.

The men in green knocked out Lytton Old Boys Traktion and will join reigning champions YMP A in the grand final this Saturday on the Hain Farming Turf at Harry Barker Reserve.

It will be Waituhi’s first elite division final appearance since 2008 when they lost 9-1 to YMP A.

Waituhi did not have a men’s team for several years but returned  to the competition in 2020.

Fast forward to 2023 and they had to come from behind to earn a title shot.

“LOB were up 2-nil, then led 3-1 into the third quarter when an injury to captain Patrick Ferry changed the game,” hockey commentator Tony Scragg said.

“Patrick’s such a key man for Traktion. He controls their game and Waituhi took advantage to score two goals to tie the game up.”

The 3-1 shootout win to Waituhi was dramatic.

“Missed opportunities by Traktion cost them and Waituhi made the most of their opportunities,” Scragg said.

“It was so dramatic that long-time hockey supporter and association life member Josie Morete could not watch it. She was ecstatic when Waituhi won it.”

Waituhi captain Henry Mohi described it as a “hard-fought game that went the full 80 minutes  . . . and then some”.

“I’m proud of the boys for not giving up and coming from 3-1 behind to level it, which led to the shootout.

“Big ups to LOB A for making us work for it right till the end.”

Hat-trick to Stafford as GMC Green outclass students

The Premier 1 women’s grand final will be fought out between GMC Green and YMP A for the 10th year in a row.

The Green Machine handed Gisborne Girls’ High 1st XI a comprehensive 6-1 defeat including a hat-trick to Jade Stafford — a member of the last Girls’ High team to win the women’s title (2011).

“GMC Green’s consistency through the whole season showed out again,” Scragg said.

“They dominated that game and are well set for the final.”

Standing in GMC’s way are arch-rivals YMP A, who beat Paikea 3-0 in the other Prem 1 semi.

“Paikea made them work for it,” Scragg said. “That may have been the game that YMP A needed going into the final.”

In Prem 2 women’s semis, GMC Kowhai continued their fine form with a 10-nil trouncing of Te Aowera.

“Kowhai dominated every quarter with an outstanding performance by Shannon Williams, who scored seven times.”

Kowhai’s final opponents are PGG Wrightson Ngatapa after the country team defeated YMP B 2-0.

“It was nil-all at halftime but the weight of possession to Ngatapa in the second half paid off with their two goals (scored by Jazz Hickling and Briar Robb).”

The Prem 2 men’s final will be between Lytton Old Boys Resene Masters and Gisborne Boys’ High 1st XI.

LOB Masters ended YMP B’s season 1-nil in a hard-fought contest to end the weekend’s semifinal play.

“It was a game that saw equal scoring opportunities for both sides,” Scragg said.

“It came down to a well-taken penalty corner scored by Matt Skuse.”