With only one round left to play in the Premier Men's hockey competition, 2008 premiers Maungakaramea have cemented their position at the top of the ladder, unbeaten this season. On Saturday, at ITM Rosvall Stadium, the men got a scare when second-placed Springfield stormed onto the turf firing. Forwards Phillip Clements andNick Zehner belted two quick successive goals in to lead 2-0 at the halfway mark. With regular players David Heappey, Graeme Bint, Brett Hood, John Daji and John Child missing due to various commitments, and only one reserve on the bench, Maungakaramea dug deep to come back in the second stanza and draw 2-2 with Springfield. Stand-in Vaughan Gillingham found the back of the box, along with Sam Webb, who scored off a penalty stroke. Following the drawn match, Mangapai hit the turf against Bream Bay. Mangapai coach/captain Tama Jones said the team had started to click at the right end of the season and it showed - thrashing Bream Bay 7-2. It was a double header in the men's competition on the weekend which wrapped up three rounds of hockey. Hood returned to the Maungakaramea fold and the team stepped up when they met Mangapai on Sunday, defeating the third-placed men's team 4-0, while Springfield backed up to play Bream Bay, in fourth place and Zehner continued his solid form hitting two for Springfield on their way to a 4-1 victory. On Monday - Queen's Birthday - the men start an overlapping eight-a-side and six-a-side competition to break up and add some interest to the four-team men's competition, before returning to the final round of 11-a-side on August 1, Springfield's Brent Markwick said. In the Premier Women's stakes, Old Girls continued their success this year, crushing Maungakaramea 3-1 to top the table, while Hikurangi were back on track with a 3-1 win over Kamo High School. Maungakaramea are in second spot in the championship while Whangarei Girls' High, who had the bye on Saturday but played Kamo High School in a make-up match on Sunday which they won 3-2, are third, ahead of Hikurangi and Kamo High. The women play round 11 on Monday - Old Girls face Hikurangi at 1.50pm while Kamo High play Whangarei Girls' High play at 3.20pm.
