Northern youngsters fail to defend title

The Northern Under-21 Women failed to defend their national title, falling 2-0 at the last hurdle to a gutsy Canterbury outfit during a nailbiting final at Palmerston North's Endeavour Trust Twin Turfs.
After drawing 2-2 with Canterbury earlier in the tournament in round four, Saturday's final was shaping up to be a good even competition. But the southerners had the edge over their northern counterparts on Saturday, claiming the title Northern had held in 2006, 2007 and 2009.
The match started at a very fast pace. Northern won the first penalty corner, which was well saved by Canterbury, but a strong follow-up shot from Northern just missed the top corner.
Canterbury enjoyed a good spell of dominance midway through the first half, penetrating the circle well on numerous occasions, and eventually scored through a Bridget Blackwood shot at a penalty corner on the 15-min mark, to secure a 1-0 lead.
Northern began to dominate proceedings near the end of the first half, but a counter attack from Canterbury off a Northern mistake earned them a penalty corner. A fantastic diving save by Rachael Lecky kept the score at 1-0 at the half-time break. As the second half started, Northern took control of the match, but an injury to Samantha Brown allowed Canterbury to slow the match down and steady themselves. Continuing their pressure Canterbury managed
to win two quick fire penalty corners, with Bridget Blackwood again organising their attack well to secure a second goal for Canterbury.
From the restart Northern player Amie Judge forced a Canterbury error to set up a one-on-one with Amelia Gibson, only to miss the resulting chance. Northern
 pressure eventually  earned a penalty corner, but a strong drag flick save enabled Canterbury to escape unscathed.
Merania Hibbard caused a number of problems for the Northern defence in the late stages of the second half, creating  chances that Canterbury couldn't counter on. Last gasp attacking by Northern couldn't create the goals they needed, and the match finished at 2-0 to Canterbury.

Northern had a good run during the week-long tournament, playing a game every day except  Sunday, which was a rest day.
Northern drew 2-2 with Capital  first up  and backed it up with a 2-0 win over Midlands. Following their draw with Canterbury, they went on to definitively beat rivals Auckland, 4-2, Central 3-1 and Southern 1-0.
Meanwhile, the Northern men, who were runners-up to Capital last year, finished in third place after snatching a 5-3 victory over Auckland in Saturday's playoff.
They too had a strong week at the tournament, winning most of their matches. But their 7-3 loss to Canterbury and 2-2 draw with Capital proved costly. Canterbury and Capital went on to play off for first, with reigning champions Capital maintaining their grip on the under-21 title, winning their match 3-1.