Hockey: Mangapai look for improvement despite big win

Mangapai player/coach Mark Thorne

A youthful Mangapai side ran circles around Springfield in their premier men's hockey match on Saturday, coming out 6-nil winners in the first round of competition.

Mangapai player/coach Mark Thorne said he was happy with the first-up performance but admitted there were still things to work on.

"We had quite a few missed opportunities throughout the game that we could have quite easily put away but we'll start to link better as we get used to each other," Thorne said.

Thorne gave credit to the young members of his side, saying he has a pretty new-look team made up of five premier grade rookies.

"It's a young man's game now and it's just about making sure the young guys are up to the pace of the game and playing up to that level. For a first-out game for those guys it was pretty good."

Mangapai got out to a great start and went 2-nil up in the first quarter thanks to a Christian Stainton double.

Ollie Hawker and Hamish McKechnie added one each in the second quarter before Springfield were able to regain composure and hold out the Mangapai attack for a period.

But the relentless Mangapai youths kept up the pace and started to frustrate the tiring Springfield side. Stainton and Hawker converted again in the second half to give Mangapai the 6-nil win.

In the other premier men's match, Maungakaramea put on a dominant performance to beat Bream Bay 11-1.

In the premier women's opening round, Springfield overcame Mangapai 3-0 on Friday night while Old Girls beat Hikurangi 3-0 and Maungakaramea battled to a 2-all draw with Whangarei Girls' High School on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Hikurangi snuck one goal to beat the Whangarei Girls' High School second XI in their reserve A women's hockey match.

Despite the loss, Girls' High's stand in coach Mark Meyer said he was impressed with the way his team played.

"Coming off a first round win I said to them that they had set a benchmark and to build from there, and even though it was a loss they stepped up from where they were at in the first game.

"All fifteen players did the job that I asked of them," said Meyer.

School teams are always expected to improve as the season runs but with two rounds played, the Girls' High side are already at a level above where they were last season.

"There is an intensity there as there are still players striving to get into that first XI."

Meyer said the game was very even and admitted his side was slow to react to a quickly taken attacking free hit in the second half which gave Hikurangi the opportunity they needed to break the deadlock on Friday night.

Only two rounds in to a 21-round competition, Girls' High look like a team to watch.

"They want to learn and they want to listen... [and] they are really positive," said Meyer.

In the other reserve A women's matches on Friday, Old Girls beat Kamo High School 5-1 while Maungakaramea beat Parihaka 3-0 and Springfield beat Mangapai 5-0.

In the reserve men's grade matches on Thursday, Hora Hora beat Bream Bay 5-2 while Maungakaramea beat Springfield 7-1 and Whangarei Boys' High School had an 11-1 win over Mangapai.