Hall stars as Dalefield Black show their winning colours

Paulette Hall had plenty to celebrate after her Dalefield Black women's hockey team beat Featherston 3-1 in the grand final of the Wairarapa division one competition at Clareville on Saturday.
Not only was Hall a vital part of the winning side but the consistency of her performances on the way to the title also saw her named as Dalefield Black's Player of the Season.
Hall's coolness under pressure was amply demonstrated on Saturday when Featherston had the only real scoring opportunity in a tightly-contested first half. It came when they were awarded a penalty stroke and Hall saved the shot from the usually reliable Tracey Donald.
The start of the second half saw both teams make positional changes with a view to breaking the deadlock.
Dalefield Black's key move was focused around marking the dangerous Donald out of the game and that responsibility fell e Retter who did an outstanding job, forcing Featherston to use greater width in their attacks and providing greater counter attacking opportunities for the Dalefield forwards.
Speedy winger Libby Monaghan made several devastating runs down the right hand side for Dalefield Black and it was she who forced the penalty corner from which Justine Robertson scored to give Dalefield Black a 1-0 advantage.
Soon after another penalty corner was forced by Dalefield Black and this time a lay off to Meredith Gillies saw her rocket the ball into the backboard to give her side a 2-0 lead.
Featherston also created their share of scoring chances but more often than not they were shut out by Dalefield Black fullbacks Leanne Daley and Tania Tatana.However, after a melee in the circle Featherston were awarded another penalty stroke and this time Donald made sure of her shot to reduce the margin between the two sides to just the one goal.
Fiften minutes remained when Dalefield Black scored the goal which proved to be the killer blow, Monaghan crossing the ball for Robertson to pounce on and give them a two-goal buffer.
Stung by this reversal Featherston then launched some of their most potent attacks but again the Dalefield Black defence, spearheaded by Tania Tatana, who hardly missed a tackle all day, kept them at bay.
Meantime there has been a change of venue for the final of the Wellington premier division secondary schoolgirls hockey competition between St Matthew's Collegiate and Wairarapa College this coming Friday night
It has been transferred from the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington to Clareville with the start time still to be advised.