HOCKEY - 'Feisty' game ends in draw

There were plenty of fireworks on display on Saturday as Springfield and Mangapai fought out an entertaining but sometimes ill-tempered three-all draw.
League leaders Mangapai were missing a few players as an injury crisis hit the club, but they still fielded a strong team for the match.
Springfield met them head-on and it took the whole game for the dust to settle. While one spectator described the game as a "cross between a cricket match and gridiron", Springfield player Brent Markwick was more circumspect.
"It was a rather feisty game and there were a few cards handed out, I think we had nine players on at one point, so it was reasonably intense out there," he said.
Springfield were up 3-2 in the dying moments of the game, but Mangapai used their numerical advantage to claim a late equaliser through Cameron Hellier.
Ray-Ray Correa and Mark Thorne were the side's other scorers, while Simon Davies, Gavin Allison and Dion Watts scored for Springfield.
The game certainly took it out of both teams and Springfield were 2-0 losers to Maungakaramea yesterday. The game was a fairly even one but Maungakaramea capitalised on their chances better, with Nick Breslin and Allan Ford scoring the goals.
Mangapai beat Bream Bay 6-2, with Hellier and Thorne scoring two apiece and Correa and Hayden Hellier also scoring, while Michael Scott claimed both goals for Bream Bay. Bream Bay's slow start to the season continued on Saturday when they went down 1-4 to Maungakaramea.
Old Girls won both of their matches over the weekend to join Whangarei Girls' High School on the top of the women's premier table.
Old Girls avenged their first round loss to Girls' High on Saturday by beating them 3-1, with international Laura Douglas scoring two of the goals and Tarannah Vette claiming the other.
The team then had 15 hours to recuperate before their second match of the weekend against Kamo High School, which they won 6-0 after running rampant in the first half.
Douglas, playing at right inner, scored a hat-trick in the match, with Vette (2) and Nicki Hayes the other scorers. Diminutive striker Melissa Simpson was made the side's player of the day for her work in setting up several scoring opportunities.
Saturday's other match saw Hikurangi score their second win of the season by beating Kamo High School 4-1. Hikurangi coach Vicky Gribble said she was still rearranging the team after a high turnover of players in the off-season.
She said the form of goalkeeper Nicky Matthews had kept them in the competition to this point, with some outstanding shot-stopping in the early rounds.
On Sunday, Maungakaramea made it two losses in a row for Girls' High with a close 3-2 win.
Maungakaramea had a slight edge over the students, after having the bye on Saturday and started the fresher side in yesterday's balmy heat.
They dominated the match after controlling the midfield, but Girls' High definitely had their moments, with Jade McLeod and keeper Rachael Lecky the standouts. Anna Thorpe was back on the scoresheet for Maungakaramea with two goals, while Monica Hudson scored the third.