Hatch
Cup Pool hots up |
| Report by Owen Embling Tuesday The Waikato Hatch Cup Team kept alive its hopes of a spot in the top eight of this year’s tournament by clawing their way to a 3-3 draw against Nelson yesterday afternoon. Nelson had earlier defeated last year’s winners, Auckland and it was clear that it would require every ounce of Waikato’s resolve to avoid a defeat. Intense pressure from Waikato early in the game failed to result in any goals and a penalty corner to Nelson against the run of play resulted in the southern team taking a 1-0 lead. The rest of the first half was evenly poised with each team creating a number of scoring opportunities. The pace of the game was frenetic and hot weather after two days of rain placed considerable physical strain on players, with frequent substitutions the order of the day. By half-time, the penalty corner count had built up very much in Nelson’s favour, but the score remained 1-0. Waikato increased the pressure early in the second half and was rewarded with an increasing number of penalty corners, one of which was ultimately converted by Patrick Harrison. The Mooloo team’s spirits were quickly dampened by an almost immediate response by Nelson, however, with a field goal after a run up the middle from the halfway line and when Nelson converter a penalty stroke a short while later it looked as if defeat was on the cards for Waikato. The Waikato boys dug deep however, and in a real display of character, they continued to launch attacks on the Nelson goal and a spectacular reverse tomahawk shot by Ryan Lutes raised the team’s spirits even higher and with about 8 minutes to go, Zachary Woods crossed a ball from the right to Ben Weir who swept it into the net to draw the scores level. Waikato supporters’ hearts were in their mouths as Nelson was awarded a penalty corner on full time. The shot on goal hit the crossbar and an illegal clearance by Waikato saw Nelson get another attempt to clinch a victory. The Waikato defence, with courageous rushing by Matthew Snodgrass, held steady and made the clearance needed to ensure the draw. This result puts Waikato in second place in the pool standings ahead of Nelson with one game left to play. Both teams have had one loss and the draw from four games for a total of 7 points each. Pool leaders are Marlborough with 9 points from three wins and one loss. Auckland and Counties, with two wins and two losses each fill fourth and fifth places with 6 points. All five teams can still qualify and thus all are desperate for victory in the last round of pool play today. Waikato plays Auckland and although historically Waikato has struggled against them, this year could see a turn around as Waikato has beaten, and drawn with, the two teams that have defeated Auckland in the last two rounds. |