Wairarapa girls into quarterfinals

A 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Northland in their final pool game late yesterday afternoon has taken Wairarapa into the quarterfinals at the national under-18 girls hockey tournament in Dunedin.
Wairarapa were given a life line to making the top eight earlier in the day when Hawke's Bay narrowly beat Tauranga, a result which meant Wairarapa had to beat Northland to join the latter in the quarters.
It was a big ask against opposition which had been clearly superior to all other sides in their pool but a stunning first half effort saw Wairarapa leading 3-1 at the break through goals to Karla Burt (2) and Holly Gaskin.It was then a case of restricting Northland possession in the second half and they did that superbly as well.
Coach Richard Fenwick rated the Wairarapa performance as easily their best of the tourney
Wairarapa's quarter-final opponent today was Southland.
Meanwhile, Wairarapa gave favourites North Harbour a decent fright in their match at the national under-18 boys hockey tournament in Wellington on Tuesday, losing 5-4 after trailing 4-1 early in the second half.
"They (North Harbour) were very skilful but they didn't always handle pressure that well and we had them struggling in the end," she said.
Star player Rowan Yeo scored three of the Wairarapa goals with the other going to Adam Scott.