Cool? Crowfoot fends off Indians

Their young goalkeeper Sara Crowfoot received the ideal birthday present when Dalefield beat Indians 3-2 in the Wellington premier division women's hockey semi-final encounter played at Clareville on Saturday.
American-born Crowfoot, who attends St Matthews College, turned 16 on the day of the match and she played a big part in Dalefield securing victory, and earning themselves a place in the grand final against Eastern Hutt in Wellington next weekend.
Dalefield coach Kim Henson was full of praise at the coolness of Crowfoot as Indians, trailing by a solitary goal, threw everything bar the kitchen sink at his team over the closing stages
"The last five minutes were pretty hectic as they (Indians) were desperate to get even again but Sara didn't seem bothered at all at the pressure she was under," Henson said.
Dalefield made the best possible start to the semi-final when Kim Harris scored a field goal in the opening minute of play after Janeen Bruce had provided the initial impetus.
The slick Indians side then evened things at 1-1 before the impressive Bruce set up a goal for her sister Ana Playle to give Dalefield a 2-1 advantage at the break
The second half was just minutes old when Indians scored to make it 2-2, but then after a long period of Dalefield attacking, South African Thande Grebe scored what was to be the winning goal for the home side.
She picked up a rebound from a penalty corner and found the net with her shot.
Coach Henson said the one goal win was, if anything probably a little flattering to Indians, as while they had troubled Dalefield with their free flowing style at play at times, Dalefield had clearly had the edge in terms of both possession and territory, especially in the second spell.
"On reflection we probably should have scored another goal or two, but at the end of the day it was all about winning, and we managed to do that," he said.
Henson was particularly pleased with the fitness of his side, something which was always going to be tested by an Indians line-up with a reputation for playing the game at pace.
"There weren't any issues with fitness at all..???they tried to run us off our feet but we were still going strongly at the end," he said.
If Crowfoot was a standout on defence for Dalefield, one also had to admire the steadiness of fullbacks Tania Scott and Lauraw Crawford and the high workrate of youngsters Taasha Henson, Sophie Wickens and Wendy Hull in the halves.
Pleasing too was the assertive play of Janeen Bruce in the forward line, as earlier in the week her chances of playing a full part in the game because of a leg injury were considered no better than 50-50.
Not only did she last the entire match, but she was a constant thorn in the side of the Indians' defence.
Dalefield will be attempting to win the premier division for the third time when they play Eastern Hutt in the competition decider, and with the teams having registered one win each over each other this season, an enthralling battle is in prospect.
For Dalefield though, the motivation for a big effort may be greater, as whereas their first round victory was just 2-1, Eastern Hutt prevailed by a massive 7-1 in their second round clash.
Coach Henson said his team were still hurting by the extent of that defeat and were determined to set the record straight next weekend.
"They ( Eastern Hutt) are a very good side who will punish you if you have a day off, and we are well aware of that," he said.
"We are set to give it our best shot, and I am sure we will."