Wairarapa College and St Matthew's Collegiate made successful starts to their Federation Cup national secondary schools hockey tournament campaigns at Clareville yesterday, both scoring 3-0 wins in their opening pool games.
It was not, however, all plain sailing for defending champions Wairarapa College in their victory over a gutsy Epsom Girls Grammar School combination.
There was a lot to like about the fluency of the Wairarapa College performance during a first half in which Emma Smith scored twice and Makayla Hanson once to give them a comfortable three-goal cushion at the break.
The second spell was a different story, however, with too many passes failing to find their target and a couple of prime scoring opportunities being "bombed" through a lack of intensity in the circle. There were also some anxious moments on defence with Epsom Girls threatening danger whenever their star attacker Rose Tynan was on the ball.
Outstanding for Wairarapa College was Megan Hull who was quick and elusive in attacking situations and solid on the tackle. Emma Smith and Michael O'Connor were others to impress and Morgan Percy's influence was missed when she was forced to leave the field with a hand injury.
