Midlands eye hockey double

The Midlands women's side have hinted that a double triumph in the National Hockey League may not be beyond reach with a 2-0 victory over Auckland on Saturday.

The Hymie Gill-coached side were good value for their win at the Gallaher Hockey Centre in Hamilton to kick-start their NHL tournament campaign in some style while the champion Bayleys Midlands men's side began their title defence with a 6-4 win over their Auckland counterparts.

The women's speed of movement and passing outshone the more laboured visiting side and indicated that Midlands should be regarded as legitimate challengers to title favourites North Harbour.

Imported midfielder Chloe Rogers was at the heart of her side's impetus and along with the pacy duo of Gemma Flynn and Cathryn Finlayson caused Auckland a number of headaches.

At the back, Clarissa Eshuis and Parekura Rangitauira were difficult to pass while goalkeeper Sally Rutherford made a string of good saves during a spell of Auckland pressure late in the first half.

Penalty corner drag flick specialist Eshuis put the hosts in front after 19 minutes when, a minute after botching her first set-piece attempt, she struck a second one perfectly.

Heavy rain soon formed large pools of water on the turf, making it hard for the hosts to exploit their superior pace.

Finlayson missed a gilt-edged chance to double her side's advantage 10 minutes into the second spell when she failed to connect with a tap-in to a gaping goal at the far post but victory was sealed shortly before fulltime when Flynn netted a diving deflection.

The three points were an ideal fillip for Midlands, who meet Southern on Saturday when the rest of the NHL tournament is played over a week in Christchurch.

"I think we'll get better the more we play too," said Gill, who also had praise for the hard-working Shannon Cochrane.

The Midlands men's side led Auckland 6-2 with 20 minutes remaining before the visitors closed the gap to take some gloss off an otherwise convincing win against the side they beat in last year's final.

"It was winning ugly, that was the disappointing thing," said influential midfielder Lloyd Stephenson.

"It's about winning at tournament time but we expect a lot more of ourselves, given the depth of talent and experience we've got.

"We lost a little focus and our decision making was poor at times," he added.

At times it was very good as well Richard Petherick scored twice from well-executed drag-flicked penalty corners, Malaysian import Selvaraju Sandrakasi showed some exciting touches and they kept young Auckland dangerman Simon Child quiet for the majority of the encounter.

Sandrakasi earnt Midlands a penalty that Stephenson converted just before halftime to give them a 4-2 lead, with Raynesh Smith also netting after fine work from Nick Ross.

The second half highlight came when Stephenson hammered a defence-splitting diagonal pass for Sandrakasi to dive onto and deflect home, while Stephenson also helped set up Hugo Inglis for a neat finish.

Stephenson was enthusiastic over Sandrakasi's display.

"He's a good addition to the team. I think he gives us things we need, like a dangerous influence up front." Midlands men will start their tournament week in Christchurch with a match against Wellington on Saturday.

- © Fairfax NZ News