Hockey: Harbour victory 'thrills' veteran

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Brett Leaver was jubilant as he joined his North Harbour team-mates in celebrating an epic 5-2 win over Northland in the national hockey league final at Rosedale Park in Albany.

After helping Auckland win the Challenge Shield six times in the past, this victory was special.

"It was a great thrill," said Leaver, who will discuss his hockey future with New Zealand Hockey Federation chief executive Ramesh Patel today. "I might retire after this. If that does happen it would be a great way to go out."

Harbour captain Richard Redfearn has also experienced success with Auckland - in a penalty-stroke win over Wellington a few years ago - but that could not compare with this.

"It was brilliant," said Redfearn, who spent some time on the sideline after a nasty blow which had blood flowing from his nose. "The guys really played well, especially when you remember we had only five games together before the final. There is a tremendous team spirit within the side."

That spirit was epitomised by David Kosoof, who scored a hat-trick to ensure the Lion Foundation National League would be won by Harbour for the first time.

Those three goals saw Kosoof join Wellington's Umesh Parag at the top of the season's goal-scoring list with eight.

As a spectacle, the final was perhaps a step or two below their round-robin clash a fortnight earlier, with all the goals coming from penalty corners or, in one instance, a penalty stroke.

The visitors went ahead after 12 minutes when Craig Reynolds provided the finishing touch to their first of nine penalty corners.

It was the wake-up call North Harbour needed. They settled well, played the ball patiently from their defence through the halves to Redfearn, Andrew Kay and Kosoof, who kept the pressure on a sometimes hesitant Northland defence.

A Leaver drag-flick from a penalty corner and a deft Kosoof deflection gave the home side their equaliser in the 22nd minute.

Northland should have taken the lead 11 minutes later when umpire Craig Gribble, who had another game he will happily forget, awarded a stroke. However, Angus Lindsay's attempt was expertly saved by keeper Richard Mrkusich.

Two minutes into the second spell Kosoof smacked home his second. Within 12 minutes, Hymie Gill made it 3-1. Gill's second - from a stroke - pushed the score to 4-1 before Kosoof completed his hat-trick in the 63rd minute.

James Nation grabbed Northland's consolation four minutes from time from the last of the game's 18 penalty corners.

"Hymie Gill and David Kosoof did the business in the circle, but really I wouldn't want to single anyone out," said Harbour coach Bill Webb. "We knew they would try something different but in the end we did the job."

In the playoff for third, Auckland reversed last week's result to beat Midland Express 3-0, while in Wellington, last year's champions beat Canterbury 5-2 to send the red and blacks into the promotion-relegation battle later in the year.