HOCKEY - Agony and ecstacy

It was a heart-wrenching morning for Northern men when they fell at the last hurdle, losing to Capital in the national under-21 hockey tournament on Saturday, but for the Northern women it was all smiles as they were crowned champions.
Both the Northern teams went through the week-long tournament at ITM Rosvall Stadium unscathed.
On Friday, Northern men played their last round-robin match against Capital - and defeated them 1-0.
However, they could not repeat the performance in Saturday's grand final, with Capital saving their best until last.
The two sides battled it out in an evenly matched game for the first 30 minutes but when space was found, Capital's Jamie Coombes saw the opportunity and took it, hitting a beautiful first goal on halftime.
Victory for either side was still on the cards as the second stanza began but Coombes backed up increasing the lead to 2-0 and the Northern side's hopes started to fade.
Northern lost any spring left in their step when Steve Jenness slammed Capital's third goal in from in front, followed by Coombes' third for a hat-trick just as the final whistle blew.
Despite their disappointing 4-0 loss, Northern men lined up to watch the girls who had spent a tense morning waiting for their final against Auckland, who they defeated 3-2 in Thursday's round-robin match.
The Northern women's faces said it all when they hit the turf - determined to finish the job after losing to Canterbury in the final last year.
Coach Angeline Waetford said it was added incentive.
"You learn from your losses that's for sure - it's all motivation," she said.
Applying pressure, Northern managed an early lead with a penalty corner from Black Sticks' squad member Stacey Michelsen, who had an outstanding nationals campaign.
Her sister Carli Michelsen followed suit after 17 minutes, outclassing an Auckland side struggling to keep possession. And she set up the third goal Charlotte Harrison tapped in to put Northern 3-0 up at halftime.
It was the cliched game of two halves, however, when Auckland emerged a different side after the interval.
"It gave us a bit of a scare when we let Auckland back into the game - it made it a good final," Waetford said.
Auckland attacked with speed and showed ball skills they lacked in the first half, catching Northern offguard. Auckland's Samantha Harrison and Monique Vujcich scored two quick goals opening up the game with 20 minutes to go.
It was a tight battle, but Northern shadowed the Auckland side, stealing the ball at any chance they got and Stacey Michelsen grabbed her second penalty corner at the final whistle with Northern winning 4-2.
A proud Waetford noted fullback Natasha Fitzsimons as standout player of the week - working solidly along with the Michelsen sisters, Petrea Webster and Harrison - whose defensive game made the platform from which the rest of the side could work.
Next year, Northern lose Webster, Alana Millington, Fitzsimons, Nicky Howes, Simone Haylett-Petty and Kate Savory - a great loss to the side, but Waetford said it was good for the girls coming through.
"There is a lot of depth there - this was our fourth year in the final now," she said.
Northern women also won the tournament in 2006 and 2007.