History almost repeated itself when Wairarapa won the national division one women's hockey competition in Wellington over the weekend. Two years ago Wairarapa took out the same title when they came from 2-0 down to beat Hawkes Bay 3-2 in the decider. And on the latest occasion they again conceded two earlygoals before again winning 3-2, the only difference being that their opponents were Southland this time round. It was appropriate that it should be Wairarapa and Southland who contested the final as they finished equal at the top of the points table after the preliminary rounds. The two had met on the opening day of the tourney with Southland winning that game 3-2 Wairarapa then bounced back to beat Nelson, Canterbury, Hawke's Bay and Wellington and draw with Waikato, sealing a place in the tournament decider in the process. Coach Andy Wilson admitted to some concerns when Wairarapa went to the halftime break in the final two goals in arrears. "We hadn't been tight enough in our marking and we had struggled to adapt to the way they (Southland) played the game," Wilson said "They had three quick forwards and they were using their pace to catch us out." Wilson said the halftime message to Wairarapa was simple, tighten up the defence and retain possession on attack. "We also needed to sharpen up when we had the ball?.we had to be more aggressive in the way we played," he said. And it was a message to which his players responded with Carla Burt and Janeen Bruce scoring goals to level things up at 2-2 and then Wendy Hull coming up with the winner about three minutes from fulltime. Wilson said the second half effort was Wairarapa's best of the tournament with Southland being put on the back foot early in the spell and being kept there for long periods. "We dominated that last 35 minutes and deserved the win in the end," Wilson said. "It was certainly nerve wracking but to come from behind and win against a good side said lot about the character and resolve of the players." The successful Wairarapa squad was: Ana-May Playle, Sophie Wickens, Jess Davies, Kelly Browne, Wendy Hull, Alice Davies, Courtney McGregor, Karen James, Taasha Henson, Carla Burt, Laura Crawford, Anita Williamson, Kate Harrington, Olivia Pearce, Janeen Bruce.
