Hockey: Hawke's Bay senior men end Australia Country tourists' unblemished run in NZ series

Hawke's Bay women's captain Shannel Tamati-Herrick (left) shadows Australia Country Women's goal scorer, Brooke Anderson, at Park Island, Napier, tonight. Photo/Paul Taylor

Australia Country Women team have stamped their hockey supremacy in the annual Eastern State Clash with an unblemished record but their male counterparts didn't have it all their way when the curtains dropped in Napier tonight.

The female tourists beat the Mark Peachey-coached Hawke's Bay women's senior side 3-0 at the Park Island turf, after posting a similar result last night.

The hosts did remarkably well, under skipper Shannel Tamati-Herrick, to keep the Aussies scoreless in the first half but Brooke Anderson and Minka Elliott breached the defence in the third quarter before Mindee Stone added another in the final spell.

Last night, Amelia Leard found the net twice from the field while Heather Morris also got in on the act.

The Aussies are unbeaten after overwhelming Wellington Capital women 4-1 and 3-0 before arriving here on Tuesday.

Asked what was the secret to their ascendancy and adroitly putting up the shutters, Elliott said they had kept their composure and structure.

"We had the patience to relax and go forward," said the attacking midfielder from the city of Mackay in North Queensland which rolls out a segment of the Great Barrier Reef on the state's east coast and sits 970km north of Brisbane.

The 34-year-old Central Queensland University employee emphasised Australia Country had resisted the temptation to zero in on the goal mouth constantly.

"We really had good structure, moving around between the lines," she said.

Elliott, who is making her debut with the team, said the Aussies found the Bay climes and scenery alluring.

"We love it here. The weather has been stunning for us and it's such a pretty place. We don't want to leave," she said with a laugh.

Peachey said the Bay women, who have former Black Stick defender Emily Gaddum and New Zealand Under-21 representatives Kaitlin Cotter and Arabella Sheild, said the tourists took their opportunities although they were a national outfit compared to his provincial one.

"On the day, the Aussies were just better than us," he said, lauding the efforts of Michelle Francis in the office for organising the trip that exposed the Bay players to stronger oppositions.

"It's become a good little tradition that happens here now quite often," he said of a tour that is in keeping with a longstanding relationship with Australia Country sides who previously travelled to the Bay every two years to compete in the affiliates tournament of the HB Hockey Festival.

Peachey and his assistant, Rachel Cornwall, are in their first season with the senior women.

It's one big group hug for the Hawke's Bay senior men and women with their Australia Country counterparts at the Park Island stadium turf in Napier. Photo/Hilary Finn

However, the Bay men stopped the rot when they beat Australia Country Men 4-0 after the women's game tonight.

The Graeme Findlay-mentored men, who had the services of Black Sticks goalkeeper Dom Dixon, had bounced back from a 4-2 defeat last night.

Findlay said following last night's result they were mindful of starting strong after they were "a little bit behind the pace yesterday".

The former Bay rep player of two decades, who is at the helm as Bay senior men's coach in his rookie season, said they had to lift the intensity for the entire game to keep the Aussies in check.

"We got three nice field goals up front ... but it was generally a very good pick-up from the team in doing what was needed to be done at that level," he said.

The Cameron Gichard-captained hosts went up 2-0 in the first half after Marcus Ambrose drew first blood before the coach's son, Sean Findlay, gave them some breathing space.

Charlie Jenkins extended the lead to 3-0 in the third quarter before defender Liam Sykes sealed the Aussies' fate with a penalty-corner goal in the final spell.

Coach Findlay said previous experience against the opposition had taught them to be on their A game but the hosts were mindful the travel and four games within five days were going to take their toll on the visitors.

"We knew we had leaked three goals early yesterday so we needed to tidy that up today so Dom Dixon had a great game in goal today," he said.

Last night, Philip Dumpleton scored two fields goals for the tourists while Matthew Souchon and Michael Dillon also got on the scorecard with one each.

For the Bay men, Sykes found the net twice from penalty corners.

"We played well in our set pieces and everyone played to their strength and we came away with a 4-0 win so it was a team effort," said the 23-year-old orchard manager.

Sykes thanked the coaches, managers and the volunteers working behind the scenes to make it possible for them to play enjoyable hockey.

The teams travel to Rotorua tomorrow before playing two more matches in Auckland on their way back across the ditch.