Feisty start to Northland club hockey season

Black Stick Alana Millington called it feisty but at times it was a downright bloody start to the club hockey season.
A bandaged Jade McLeod showed real grit to score two goals in Springfield's 2-2 draw with Maungakaramea in the premier grade opener on Saturday at ITM Rosvall.
After connecting with the follow through of Natalie Child's stick early on in the match, McLeod's gashed head needed attention to staunch the flow of blood but she bravely re-entered the game 15 minutes later putting off further medical help until after the game.
It was a good job, too, for her team. The match which had been smouldering in the scoreless first half, burst into action immediately in the second spell with a well- taken goal to one of Maunga- karamea's two Black Sticks, Ella Gunson.
Such was the quality and pace of the match that Springfield broke immediately downfield after the restart and Maungakaramea keeper Tracey Morgan was forced into a good save.
Maungakaramea scored a second goal a couple of minutes later, with Jennifer Johns getting a deflection on a Jane Thompson shot, following a penalty corner.
Springfield need a big effort and they got it with Millington and McLeod leading the way.
They used space well and threatened with Kendyll Peters along the flanks and when McLeod cut into the circle, dragged the ball wide of a defender and backhanded the ball into the net they were back in the game. When she repeated the move midway through the spell, only from a more acute angle, the scores were level.
Both sides searched for the winner during the final quarter with Maungakaramea perhaps the unluckiest of the two but the defenders raised their intensity with Springfield's Alyse Emirali and Maungakaramea's Stephanie Hudson marshalling their troops well.
After the match Springfield skipper Millington saluted her bloodied goalscorer.
"I think that Jade made the difference really, she played pretty good once she'd got her head sorted out," she said.
Millington was pleased with the draw after giving Maungakaramea a two-goal lead, saying the level of hockey in the first match of the season was promising for both sides.
"It was a really intense game. The first half was a bit slow but the second half was a lot faster and then got a bit feisty. It might not have been that pretty at times but it was very feisty," she said.
Whangarei Girl High School and Old Girls were big winners in the other two first-round matches.
WGHS defeated fellow students Kamo High School 6-1, while Old Girls used their Black Stick, Laura Douglas, to good effect, beating Hikurangi 7-1.
Douglas scored four goals in the effort with Kaitlyn Gravatt, Melissa Simpson and Jane Squires scoring the other goals and Kelly Johnston replying for Hikurangi.
In the men's competition Dempster and Hill Electrical Maungakaramea got the start they were looking for in the battle of the sponsors, beating Currie Electrical Springfield 1-0. Maungakaramea were made to work hard for their victory however with Springfield's midfield proving a major obstacle but James Houston's goal was enough for the points.
The other match was more of a free-flowing game, with Bream Bay getting up over Mangapai in a 3-2 thriller. Josh Rapana scored a double with Ivo Rongen the other scorer, while Henry Cooper and Kelvin Codlin were the scorers for Mangapai.