Dalefield out to exorcise their demons

Redemption is on the minds of Dalefield as they prepare for their Wellington premier-division men's hockey match with Victoria University at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington tomorrow.
Frustrated by the lack of resolve and unity in their 7-1 thumping by Harbour City-Tawa last weekend in a game that had been winnable with anything like a peak performance, a full-strength Dalefield squad is determined to make amends.
''You really don't need to tell the players how bad last weekend was. They know better than anyone else,'' Dalefield coach Lance Hare said.
''There's been a lot of soul searching done and hopefully we'll bounce back in a positive way.''
Last weekend's loss left Dalefield at the bottom of the competition table but still in with a chance of making the top-four playoffs. However, a win tomorrow is of paramount importance if that is to happen and Hare is confident they are capable of reversing the 2-1 defeat at the hands of University the last time they met.
''It's all about trusting the game plan,'' he said. ''At this level you have to have strategies in place and stick to them. You can't afford to have players doing their own thing.''
Hare is considering a couple of positional changes for tomorrow's game. Those could see Dane Lett move into midfield and Trent Lett into centre half while Chris Mason could move from right half to left half and Liam Workman vice-versa.
On the local hockey front there were a couple of big wins in the women's premier-one grade last weekend with Featherston thrashing Red Star White 8-2 and Dalefield maintaining their unbeaten record with a 6-2 beating of Tumu. East Coast and Red Star drew 2-2 after Red Star led 2-0 at halftime.
Tomorrow will see East Coast playing Tumu, Dalefield up against Red Star White and Red Star playing Featherston.