HOCKEY - Girls' High don't need star power to win games

WHANGAREI Girls' High School may have lost a couple of their star players, but the remnants of last year's squad showed they have enough talent left to mount a credible title challenge this year after beating Old Girls 3-1 on Saturday.
Players such as Blacksticks Jasmine McQuinn and Charlotte Harrison are hard to replace, but the high school team proved they are up to the challenge with a moral boosting win to start their season.
Both high school and Old Girls were able to construct plenty of chances in front of goal, but it was the girls' side that finished them more clinically.
The first goal was a well-executed penalty corner strike by Samaria Tugaga in the opening 10 minutes of the match, and it was followed by another goal by Natasha Cotton, scored on the break to see the students ahead by two at halftime.
Old Girls missed the calming influence of Tarranah Vette in the midfield and they were bent out of shape too easily by the pace of the girls' high attacks, with Jade McLeod in particular, threatening in attack.
Girls' high went 3-0 up thanks to a scrambled Anna Weir goal before Jodie Armstrong deflected in a Laura Douglas penalty corner to score a late consolation goal for Old Girls.
The other match in the women's premier grade competition saw Hikurangi-Parihaka beat Kamo High School 3-0. Both sides struggled throughout the match with pass completion in a stop-start encounter and it was experience that made the difference for Hikurangi.
Both teams had several chances to score, but it was Karen Scott-Davidson (2) and Michelle King who broke through to hit the net. At the other end, Kamo midfielder Leila Nicholson often set strikers Katie Rood and Hannah Nink up on goal, but they were continually frustrated by the experienced Hikurangi defence.
In the men's premier grade competition, Mangapai got off to a great start to the season by beating Springfield in a see-saw battle 4-3.
In the fairly even match both sides threw off early season nerves and were able to capitalise on a high percentage of their scoring chances.
The hockey wasn't always pretty, with a high number of turnovers coming from a lack of precision that often hinders early season matches, but overall it was an entertaining spectacle.
Defending champions Maungakaramera eased past a fresh faced Bream Bay United in the other match, scoring six unanswered goals.
Bream Bay will struggle for a few weeks at least to get up to speed after replacing eight departing players over the off season. The young side are almost all in their teens and at times they looked all at sea against the experienced and precise Maungakaramea attack, who dominated possession throughout the match.
Sam Webb and Brett Hood scored two goals apiece, with Dennis Drake and Alan Ford also getting on the scoresheet.