Hockey: Bay U18 invitational girls bake NSW

HB U18 striker Teegan Geary slips a deft pass to deceive NSW defender Sophie Littlejohns during the NSW Cup match at Park Island, Napier, yesterday. Photo/Warren Buckland

The score against the touring New South Wales team is just shy of a baker's dozen but there's no bloom in the crust of Hawke's Bay Under-18 girls' invitational hockey camp in Napier just yet.

That's because the proof of the Bay girls' worth will not be known until after the dust has settled against Queensland in the 6.45pm match today.

"This was their first game together ever for this campaign," Bay coach Gary Heal said last night after the Arabella Sheild-captained side ran amok with nine goals in the first half of the sole NSW Cup match.

The Bay team are throwing caution to the wind after losing both their annual Queensland Challenge games last year.

Heal said some of his girls had played alongside each other in school and other age-group representative teams but the squad of 20 were only just beginning to find a sense of cohesiveness and the understanding that comes with it at this level.

"They just need a little bit of extra time in playing to get the combinations working and gelling but we certainly had some good times in the first half."

NSW fine tuned their defensive systems much better in the second spell to concede only two goals.

Bay goalkeeper Caitlin Maiorana didn't have to work up much sweat but Heal was comfortable with that.

"Yes, I think she may have touched the ball once or maybe twice, if she as lucky, but as the coach it's always good to have a bored goalkeeper," he said with a laugh.

He didn't keep a tab on who scored goals but, needless to say, Olivia Shannon, Bella Greig, Jamie Wilson, Teegan Geary and Kaitlin Cotter got their fix in "pulling the trigger" at the coal face amid deft passing and crisp running of the lines.

Heal was loath to single out any players because he didn't think it was a "game as such" yesterday.

"They've all had a piece of the action and they all have done incredibly well. It's really promising but it'll be a big ask [today] and Friday because they have much stronger players."

Heal said his team seemed to be heading in the right direction to match, if not eclipse , the Queenslanders' challenge but no one was getting too ahead of themselves just yet.

NSW, as part of their 10-day tour of the country, are heading off to Taupo today for some sightseeing before making their way back to Auckland to catch their flight home after the Bay players billeted them overnight.

The Bay U18 invitational boys play Queensland from 5pm today.