Hockey: Maungakaramea men thrill in premier final

"The goal of the century" by Brett Hood set the tone for Maungakaramea's thrilling 3-2 win over Mangapai in the men's premier hockey final on Saturday night.

Hood reacted clinically to send an aerial, deflected cross screaming into the net to get Maungakaramea back on level terms after Mangapai had opened the scoring. Maungakaramea coach John Child said the spectacular strike became the turning point of the match. "It was a great goal really and it set the scene for us for the rest of the game ... after that it was all go," Child said.

The score remained at 1-all until after halftime when Maungakaramea scored twice, with goals to Cam Hellier and Tim Vessey, which saw them lead 3-1 into the final quarter.

Mangapai's player-coach Mark Thorne scored a field goal to narrow the lead to one with 10 minutes to go and send Maungakaramea pulses racing but despite Mangapai making a number of chances, they couldn't score the equaliser. The last 10 minutes seemed to stretch for hours for the Maungakaramea player-coach.

"I got a green card with two minutes to go but it felt like a red, we were seriously under the pump and it was the worst time to be watching the game from the side," Child admitted.

"Our experienced players really stepped up - Sam Webb played his best game of the year - but in saying that our young guys played a big part and they passed it around well to set up both the second half goals," he said.

He said the win capped off a fantastic revival for the club.

"We're the first to admit we've been up and down all year. After six rounds of the round robin competition we were dead last but we came right at the best time possible," he said. "You have to feel for Mangapai. They've been playing very well all season and we were in exactly the same situation eight or nine years ago.

"The final result takes nothing away from the season we've had, we've had a bloody good season to come from bottom place last year to win the round robin competition and make the final," Thorne said.

Maungakaramea deserved their title on the night, he said.

"We never really dropped off, it was more that but they took their opportunities when they had them and we didn't," he said.

Last year's champions Bream Bay will be highly motivated next year after finishing fourth - beaten in the third and fourth-place playoff by Springfield 4-2.