Hockey: National double evaporates

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Auckland can forget about a national hockey league double this year.

While the women played their part in winning the Lion Foundation League final with a convincing 4-1 win over Canterbury at Lloyd Elsmore Park on Saturday, the men stumbled to a 1-3 loss to Midland Express in yesterday's catch-up game in Hamilton.

North Harbour will now host Northland in Saturday's men's final while Auckland, who slipped to fourth place after round-robin play, will be back in Hamilton to play the Kevin Towns-coached combined side in the third/fourth play-off.

The Auckland women exorcised a few ghosts in handing Canterbury stalwarts Rachel Petrie and Kate Trolove the going-away present they did not want.

In snapping Canterbury's K Cup-winning streak which stretched back to 1994, Auckland underlined their pre-match favouritism with some simple, effective, well-played hockey.

Building from the sound defensive base provided by player-of-the-day Sandy Bennett, Auckland attacked strongly through the flanks, with Mandy Smith and Kylie Foy untroubled in outpacing and out-thinking Canterbury.

Despite that dominance, the visitors forced four first-half penalty corners to Auckland's one, but never looked like scoring.

As if to prove a point to the New Zealand selectors, Auckland centre forward Lisa Walton got her team started with the final touch for the opening goal in the seventh minute. Foy made a great run from the left, pushed the ball to Smith who sent it on to the diving Walton who touched home just inside the far post.

Canterbury got back on terms 10 minutes later when Carol Ward intercepted an Auckland 16-yard hit and simply carved through, using all her skills to score.

Smith provided the build-up and Walton again the finish for Auckland's second and a 2-1 lead at halftime.

The second half was again dominated by the home side with Smith, through a reverse stick shot in the 58th minute and deft deflection nine minutes later, ensuring Auckland's second win over their traditional foes this season.

Whereas the southerners will be without Trolove and captain Petrie, who will quit after the Sydney Olympics, Auckland are likely to retain most of their players and perhaps co-coaches Rebecca Abbott and Simon Norton as well.

"Provided there are not too many changes involved with a switch to a different time frame next season, I'll probably still be around," Abbott said. "This is something for us to build on. Our real problem is building a base under the top team to ensure the progress we have made can continue.

"We played to our strength through the flanks and when Tina Bell-Kake came into midfield we looked even stronger. We were always confident after our [4-2] win in Christchurch, despite them talking themselves up.

"While we have got what we expected from our top players, others like Karen Syddall have played out of their skins."

After a scoreless first half, Wellington ran away in the second spell to beat Manawatu 4-1 away to seal third place as the two sides swapped their 1999 finishes. Ninewa Roberts scored twice for Wellington while Moira Senior got the home side back to 1-1 in the 43rd minute.

North Harbour led Otago 3-2 at halftime but conceded three second-half goals to lose 3-5 in the fifth/sixth play-off in Dunedin. North Harbour face the promotion/relegation tri-series later in the season if they are to hold their place in the league.

In the men's final, Midland Express had goals from a penalty corner through Steve Waldron and a field goal from the ever-improving Blair Hopping to take a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes.

Auckland got one back through Troy Hari before the break. But Chris Knight sealed the combined side's win with a well-taken goal four minutes from time.

In the crucial fifth/sixth play-off, defending champions Wellington - who did not win in the round-robin - will now be at home to Canterbury.