Northland forced to settle for 4th place

They promised so much, but the Northland Women's inability to convert goals at the National Hockey League Tournament in Wellington, left them reeling in fourth place after a long week of competition.
Northland finished third in pool play with five wins under their belts, and went up against arch rivals Auckland during Saturday's semifinals. With both sides filled with Black Sticks, the teams were evenly matched. Northland were pumped heading into the semi, and coach Alan Lints said his side played out of their skins, with the young defenders stepping up to restrict Auckland to three goals, two of which were scored by Katie Glynn and one from Stacey Macdonald. Northland had ample opportunities to score, but were simply unable to convert, Lints said.
Anna Thorpe slipped one goal past the Auckland defence to claw back the score margin, but Auckland secured their berth in the final against Capital with their 3-1 victory, while Northland had to settle for the third or fourth.
Northland attacked from the get-go in the playoff match against Midlands yesterday . Stacey Michelsen created a chance when she made a break and drew in the defenders before passing the ball out to Thorpe who slotted the ball yet again for Northland. Northland applied huge pressure on Midlands, and defended strongly, but Gemma Flynn managed to get the ball past the defenders to level the score 1-1 at halftime.
During the second half, Northland maintained their pressure and once again had many chances to score, infiltrating the circle time after time, but they could not find the goal, Lints said. Midlands Jol McGarvey added another for her side, and Northland could not equalise, leaving them to settle for fourth - one better than last year's fifth spot.
Lints praised Jasmin McQuinn for stepping up into centre back after Alana Millington broke her hand, along with Emma Cobbin, the Australian guest player who played outstandingly for Northland in her second appearance for the team.
While there were many positive aspects to the tournament, Lints added the players had to show some accountability for their below-par finish to the NHL.
Meanwhile, Northland Men won their first match of the tournament 2-1 in Saturday's game against Canterbury, setting them up take on North Harbour in the playoff battle for fifth spot.
In Saturday's match, Canterbury did most of the attacking but Northland gained the edge with late goals from Hari Mallappa and Shay Neal. Northland held on over the last hectic ten minutes to get the win.
After their rough start to the tournament and a couple of heavy losses, Northland Men stepped up their performance and improved with every match.
Yesterday's game was no exception with Northland sticking with North Harbour to trail 2-1 at halftime.
Harbour got out to an early lead with a double by Bevan Hari, before Sam Webb closed the gap with a penalty corner drag flick. Harbour scored just after the break and with 15 minutes ago, but then the heavens opened.
The umpire wanted to call the game off, but the players wanted to keep playing.
With neither team able to function properly in the torrential rain and hail, the score did not change and Northland completed the tournament in sixth spot - two places better than last year.
Auckland Women won yesterday's NHL final 5-2 over Central, while the men's final between Auckland and Central was called off due to the rain, and a draw was declared.