The
Waikato Under 13 girls returned on Wed with the coveted Margaret Hiha
Trophy
by Sean McCaffrey
The Waikato Under 13 girls returned on Wed with the coveted Margaret Hiha Trophy.
In the smaller section A of round robin play, our 1st game was against Horowhenua. Waikato caught them with 1st game blues and scored 9 goals in the 1st half and finished of with 6 more in the 2nd half to finish 14-0.
Tues morning saw us playing Hawkes Bay. A big Strong team who played open flowing hockey, Waikato managed to notch up 3 goals in the 1st half , luckily because H.B. came back to win the 2nd half with 1 goal. 3-1 at full time.
2 hours later we fronted up against Taranaki who were defending the trophy.The Taranaki coach had done her homework on us and sent her team out to mark a very tight man to man.This game was very tight as Taranaki defence was determined but unable to finish up front. We won 4-0 but it was a much tougher game than HB had been and was not a good indication of possession.
Wednesday we played Counties Manukau and changed people into different positions, and managed to win 4-1 securing the trophy .
Top goal scorer for Waikato was recent Taranaki import Mia Ruakere-Forbes. Most valuable players were Natasha Jaques, at inside right, whose ability to set up goals was noticed by opposition coaches, and of course the amazingly versatile Kim Tanner who dominated play and gained possession in whatever position she played.
A great team building tournament.
