HOCKEY - Race for title heats up as Bream Bay take upset win

United's Jane Dromgool tries to retain possession in the uphill battle against Old Girls.Michael CunninghamAn upset win by Bream Bay United yesterday sees the three top teams in the Northland premier men's league separated by a single point.
Bream Bay trailed Springfield 0-1 at halftime but a purple patch in the first 15 minutes of the second spell saw them surge into the lead.
Goals to Gary Sand, Sean Dole and Alan Crawford took Bream Bay to a 3-1 lead and despite a revival by Springfield, which saw them score a late goal, the Bay held on to win.
The victory means that Mangapai retain their lead in the competition, despite being beaten by Maungakaramea on Friday night.
Mangapai played well in the first half of the often scrappy game, a match that was made particularly difficult for the players by heavy rain.
They led 1-0 at the break and doubled their lead early in the second spell and it looked like the recent resurgence of last year's champions Mangakaramea had come to a temporary halt.
Although they were without their under-18 players and had veteran defender Graeme Bint forced from the field with a broken hand, Maungakaramea dug deep and goals to Ian Page, Keiran Lynn and Alan Ford saw them nail 3-2 win.
The return of Sam Webb to the side helped Maungakaramea gain momentum in the second spell but not much separated the two teams and the competition is now heading toward an intriguing conclusion.
Maungakaramea and Springfield are just one point behind Mangapai with seven rounds remaining before the playoffs.
There were two games in the women's premier league at the weekend, with Maungakaramea stretching their lead in the competition to eight points over Whangarei Girls' High School, with a 2-1 win over Hikurangi-Parihaka.
It was anything but an easy victory over their old rivals, with Hikurangi making the early running, capped off with a Dene Cheeseman goal after 10 minutes. Maungakaramea came back strongly but although they dominated possession and territory, they found it difficult to take their chances. A goal to Natalie Child after a goal-mouth scramble levelled the score before halftime. The match seemed headed toward a draw until Maungakaramea's Monica Hudson scored the winner with three minutes to go.
In the other match, Old Girls ground out a 1-0 win over their bogey team, United-Kawakawa.
Laura Douglas' scored the winner 10 minutes into the second half but the score didn't reflect Old Girls' dominance in the match.
As ever the United defence was in great form, led by arguably the best keeper in the competition at the moment, Lorna Drake.
Drake faced 26 Old Girls shots in the first half and 22 in the second, with her goal-keeping prowess peaking ahead of the World Masters Games in England in August, where she will keep goal for the New Zealand team.
Kara Ritchie was also in good form for United, while Amy Baker was the player of the day for Old Girls.
The match between Kamo High School and Whangarei Girls' High school was deferred to a later date, with most of the players taking a breather after competing at the national under-18 tournament, won by Canterbury in Whangarei, last week.