Victory vital to Dalefield

Dalefield see their Wellington premier division match with Northern United as a "must-win" at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.
With Dalefield fifth on the points table and Northern United sixth and last, the game provides an opportunity for either side to overhaul fourth-placed Victoria University, and greatly boost their chances of making the semifinals.
"I guess you can say it is a must win for both teams and that's certainly the way we will be approaching it," Dalefield coach Willie Schaefer said yesterday.

Victory for Dalefield would end a losing streak which has seen them slide from third on the competition table.
Schaefer has identified the failure to turn prime scoring chances into goals as the main reason for that slump. Last weekend's loss to Indians was a case in point.
Dalefield clearly had the edge in territory and possession but Indians were more proficient in their finishing and won 5-2.
"We are actually playing pretty well except for getting the ball into the back of the net, that's where we are struggling," Schaefer said. "It's more a mental thing than anything else, we have to back ourselves more".
Two of their more promising youngsters will be missing this week. Joseph Robertson is on tournament duty with the Wairarapa under-15 team and Alex Sumenko-Bucknell has a broken collar bone.