Dalefield focus on end goal

SKIPPER'S TOUCH: Dane Lett led the Dalefield scoring action.PHOTOS/FILE

Hopes a beefed up Dalefield would make a decent impact in this season's Wellington premier division men's hockey competition have already been realised.

Their 8-5 win over Hutt in a high-scoring affair at Fraser Park on Saturday followed hard on the heels of a 5-5 draw with Harbour City Tawa in their opening encounter and has them sitting equal top with Harbour City Tawa on the points table.

It's all a far cry from recent seasons when just maintaining their spot in the premier league was a huge battle for Dalefield but coach Willie Schaefer says both management and players are aware they need to keep on improving to become a serious contender for honours at the business end of the season.

"Obviously it's nice to start so well but it's early days yet and we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves," Schaefer said after the Hutt win. "There are still a stack of things we can do better and that's where the focus needs to be."

Schaefer said the scoring of 13 goals in two matches illustrated the attacking potential within the Dalefield lineup but he was quick to add they had already conceded 10 goals themselves, and that was something which indicated the defensive structures weren't working as well as they should be.

"At this level every defensive error you make is likely to cost you and we clearly have to tighten up in that area," he said. "You can't keep giving up five goals a game and still expect to win, it just won't happen."

Saturday's match saw Dalefield leading Hutt 3-2 after a first half which was evenly contested. But the second spell was mostly all Dalefield with goals coming at regular intervals as they constantly troubled the Hutt defence with the slickness of their passing and the efficiency of their support play.

Skipper Dane Lett scored three times from corners and among the other goalscorers were Alex Sumenko-Bucknell and Joseph Robertson. That trio all had strong games, and the return of the experienced Rowan Yeo to the forward line was a definite plus as well, as much for his organisational skills as for anything else.

In other premier division matches on Saturday Harbour City Tawa thumped Victoria University 7-2 and defending champions Indians drew 3-3 with Northern United. No games will be played over Easter weekend and Dalefield's match the following weekend has already been deferred as it clashes with an age-group tournament.