Young guns fire as Dalefield claim Indians' scalp

Dalefield stunned Indians when they won their catch-up Wellington premier division men's hockey match 4-2 at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington on Monday evening.
It was a huge form reversal for both sides as they had met just two days before at Clareville with Indians scoring a comfortable 5-1 win then.
And it left Dalefield with clear bragging rights over one of the serious contenders for the premier division title as they also claimed Indians' scalp in their first round encounter. A late goal gave them a 3-2 victory on that occasion.
Coach Lance Hare believed the latest result was due in large part to Dalefield approaching the game in a more relaxed state of mind than they had for Saturday's match when hopes for another upset win were relatively high.
''There was a bit of tenseness in the camp on Saturday and it probably showed in our performance,'' he said.
''This time, it was a more of case of going out there and enjoying it.
''We took the pressure off ourselves and concentrated on playing good hockey and everything pretty much fell into place.''
Interestingly, Dalefield started with two of their young guns in Ben van Woerkom and Hugh Taylor up front with Jesse Workman, meaning that more experienced forwards in Rowan Yeo and Mark Scully were on the reserve bench.
Hare was quick to say, however, that this move was no reflection whatsoever on the form of Yeo and Scully, who had been playing well. Rather it was seen as a chance to give the likes of Taylor a rare opportunity to impose his enthusiasm on proceedings at an early stage and he had grabbed it with both hands.
''Initially, I was wanting Hugh to give a strong first 10 minutes or so and then take him off but he coped so well we him had running on and off all game. He did an excellent job,'' Hare said.
The confidence in the Dalefield camp was hugely boosted when Chris Mason put them 1-0 after he netted from a penalty corner. From there on, they were on their way, taking a 2-1 advantage into the half-time break and again outscoring Indians by one goal in the second half.
The man they call ''super sub'', Willie Waitere, scored two of their other goals with Jesse Workman also getting himself on the scorecard.
Hare was particularly pleased with the manner in which Dalefield maintained their structure when Indians launched attacks from all over the field in a desperate attempt to even things up. ''We didn't flinch, we just kept our heads down and did what was required to keep them out,'' he said.
''Quite honestly, we never looked like losing, we were that solid.''
Spearheading what was an impressive defensive effort was goalkeeper Orin Lockyer.
The player's composure under fire was especially noteworthy.
Dalefield are now looking for another upset win when they play competition leaders Hutt in Wellington this coming Saturday.
''Again we've got nothing to lose, we only have to worry about playing the type of game we want to play,'' Hare said.