Hockey: Maungakaramea put in box seat by Mangapai

Liam Litchfield winds up a pass near the circle. Photo / John Stone

It came down to the last round to decide a winner of the premier men's hockey round robin competition and Mangapai did Maungakaramea a huge favour by beating Springfield to knock them off the top of the table.

Going into the final round on Saturday, Springfield were just two competition points ahead of Maungakaramea and needed the win to finish the season on top. But with the three bye points and a Springfield loss, Maungakaramea slipped into first place without having to take the field.

Mangapai who finished third on the table fought hard in the match and will take confidence into the semifinal in two weeks when they play Springfield again.

Whangarei Boys' High School beat Bream Bay 6-1 in the other premier men's match and the two sides will face each other again next week to decide the fourth semifinalist.

The premier women's competition also came down to the last round as Old Girls beat Springfield 4-1 to finish top of the table.

Old Girls were just one point behind Springfield on the table so needed the win to move ahead, and they came out firing and will go into next week's playoffs full of confidence.

In the other premier women's matches, Maungakaramea finished the regular season strongly by beating Hikurangi 4-0 on Friday to finish third on the table while Whangarei Girls' High School beat Mangapai 6-1 on Saturday to take fourth place.