Central Hockey pushing through challenging matches

Higgins Central Prem Men in action earlier this season. Photo / LABEN Photography

Central Hockey Club had some tough games last Saturday.

Higgins Central Prem Men travelled to Palmerston North for the first round of the Intercity competition, coming up against a fit, well-drilled Levin Hockey Club team.

With the Intercity competition comes a few different rules to spice the game up. If a field goal is scored, the scorer steps up for an 8-second one-on-one shootout against the goalie. With this in play, our standout player was Mathew Gray, who allowed them to convert one out of six attempts. By far our best game of the season with great teamwork and structure, the 10-0 loss didn’t reflect the game.

The Unichem Central Prem Women were up against Akina Rovers Horsefield.

Since playing them in the first round, we have grown as a team and are playing some great hockey. Prepared for the challenge, the girls were on fire in the first quarter.

Tied 0-0 in the second, we knew we needed to continue holding the middle with a strong and smart defence. With nine minutes to halftime, Akina had a runaway shot at goal. A one-on-one with our goalkeeper, Kylie Barnes, featured a brilliant sliding save. However, a collision with an Akina player caused Kylie to be knocked out and the game called off.

Kylie is doing well, recovering from a concussion, and we look forward to having her back soon. A big thank you to Sam Gay from Akina, the amazing GP for being there the whole time, and the rest of the Akina team for all your help.

Henry’s Pies Central Reserve Women played Napier Tech White.

They knew this would be a challenging match with several players away. The ladies worked hard in defence but faced a strong attack from the opposition, ultimately resulting in a 10-0 loss.

The team never gave up and continued to push through the fatigue. Several played unfamiliar positions where they gave their all and took them as learning opportunities. Several attacking options showed strong teamwork. The ladies are improving and developing exponentially and will be a superb team to watch progressing throughout the season.

Another tough loss for the NZ Trellis Central Reserve Men against Te Awa Scinde Blue, a team that has played together for many seasons. We were able to create several good chances on attack but were unable to capitalise on it. We were unfortunate that they managed to get some lucky touches, wrong-footing Ross in goal and bringing the final score to 7-2. There’s always next weekend.