30th July 2007

In the ABN AMRO-Craigs match of the weekend, the Hamilton Old Boys v The Riv Suburbs Piako game doubled as both an Intercity fixture and the final of the Hooper Cup for Waikato’s 1st Round Championship.

Suburbs, defending Hooper Cup champions, opened strongly but Old Boy’s Gareth Nuzem gave his side the early advantage with a touch in from PC rebound. Paul Rae looked to have increased the lead but his clean reversed shot was questionably disallowed. Rae made no mistake minutes later and a classy piece of finishing from Ben Bartels stretched Old Boys lead to three. Mike Mee pegged one back for Suburbs before the break with a rare attacking opportunity. Suburbs were guilty of too easily turning over possession and struggled to combat the clever use of long and short overhead passes.
Suburbs failed to threaten in the second half in which Richard Petherick and Joel Finn converted for Old Boys for a convincing 5-1 win. Petherick dominated the midfield for Old Boys with accurate passing and aggressive tackling whilst all the Old Boys strikers harried the Suburbs defenders into errors. Suburbs coach Charlton Thompson conceded that his side was comprehensively outplayed whilst the senior members of the Old Boy’s team complimented the strategies employed by their coach Gary Rae. Old Boys are one win away from ensuring an Intercity semi finals berth with three rounds to play.

The Cook University retained their unbeaten record with a comprehensive 8-3 win over Otumoetai to remain on top of the standings. The win was set up by an impressive first half effort in which they scored six goals. Tony Hopping 4, and James Hawley 3 were the main contributors.

Fraser Tech lost 1-2 to Valley United but retain their place in the top four on goal difference.

In the Women’s fixtures Avenue Storage University had a comfortable win over Papakura 7-0 to remain the only unbeaten Division 1 women’s team.

Te Awamutu got their title defense back on track with a 4-1 win in Ngatea over Valley United.

In the only locally played game Fraser Tech and Southern United struggled to score in an evenly contested match. Southern’s Sophie Irvine and Tech’s Amy Williams traded second half goals to share the points with Tech remaining 2nd and Southern slipping to 5th in the standings after four rounds.

Tauranga fought off a stern challenge from hosts Rotorua Aces to win 1-0 and with a game in hand are now well positioned for a semi finals berth.

For the Record
Midlands Intercity
MIDLANDS INTERCITY HOCKEY RESULTS, 28 JULY 2007
Men Div 1:
In Hamilton: The Riv Suburbs Piako 1 (Mike Mee) lost to Hamilton Old Boys 5 (Gareth Nuzem, Paul Rae, Ben Bartels, Richard Petherick, Joel Finn), HT 1-3;
At Rotorua: Mt Maunganui 6 beat Rotorua Indians 1 HT 2-1;
At Ngatea: Fraser Tech 1 lost to Valley United 2, HT 1-0;
At Mt Maunganui: The Cook University 8 (Tony Hopping 4, James Hawley 3, Morice McMillan,) beat Otumoetai 3, HT 6-1.
Points: The Cook University (12), Ham Old Boys (10), The RIV Suburbs, Fraser Tech, Valley Utd (6), Mount Maunganui (4), Cosmopolitan Otumoetai (3), Rotorua Indians (0).

Men Div 2:
Kohekohe 8 beat Rotorua Eagles 1 HT 4-1; Tauranga Old Boys 5 beat Ngapuna 0 by default; Great Lake Taupo 4 beat Onewhero 2, HT 4-1.

Women Div 1:
In Hamilton: Southern Utd 1(Sophie Irvine) drew with Fraser Tech 1 (Amy Williams), HT 0-0;
At Ngatea: Te Awamutu 4 beat Valley United 1 HT 2-1. HT 2-1;
At Pukekohe: Avenue Storage University beat Papakura 0;
At Rotorua: Rotorua Aces 0 lost to Tauranga 1, HT 0-0;
Points: Avenue Storage University (10), Fraser Tech, Te Awamutu (7), Tauranga (6), Southern, Aces (5), Valley Utd (1), Papakura (0).

Women Div 2:
Great Lake Taupo 10 beat Pukekohe 0, HT 3-0; Ngapuna 5 beat Manurewa Arrows 0; Onewhero Pukekohe 3 beat Central BOP 2.

Full Results and points available
http://www.geocities.com/vaughanhilton/intercitytables.htm