Northland girls exceed expectations at nationals

A determined Northland side achieved a year-long aim when they defeated North Harbour at the National Premier Girls Under-18 Tournament.
The 2-1 breakthrough victory finally came on Thursday at the national event in Christchurch, with goals from Jade McLeod and Fee Heinen.
It was the fourth time this year that Northland had faced North Harbour - and they had lost the three previous encounters.
The win gained Northland a semifinal berth, far exceeding any expectations of the side, which was only finalised days before the team travelled to Christchurch, said Northland Hockey chief executive Grant McLeod.
"We were thinking a top-eight finish would be great - but to make it through to the semifinals was excellent."
In their pool matches, Northland had a tough encounter with Auckland and were defeated 3-0.
They bounced back to defeat Wairarapa 1-0, with Sharnee Diamond scoring the sole goal of the match.
It was one-sided affair when Northland met their semifinal opponent Canterbury yesterday , the northern girls well beaten by 4-0.
The classy performance from the Cantabrians saw them sail into the grand final against Auckland today.
Meanwhile, Northland will play for third or fourth against Tauranga. There was no Northland team contesting the under-18 boys' national tournament as there were not enough players to muster a team.
Meanwhile, the under-16 Northland girls and boys' teams will contest their national tournaments at Auckland and Hamilton respectively, starting on Monday.