7 October 2006
ROUND SIX NHL MATCH REPORTS
Courtesy NZHF Media

Midlands Teams
Bayleys Midlands 1 Mark Cromie Northland 0
Half time score – 0 - 0
Goal scorers – Stacey Brannigan
Despite a gutsy Northland performance, Bayleys Midlands prevailed with a 1 – 0 win to remain at the top of the table with one round to play. Stacey Brannigan scored the winner in the 56th minute. The game was a tight affair played mainly in the midfield. Brannigan was named Player of the Day. Other standouts for Midlands included Kate Mahon with another outstanding display at right half and the twin towers of Di Weavers and Clarissa Eshuis in defence. Lymarah Wharerau and Kiisha Gurran also made some telling runs. For Northland Nicola McLeod in goal and defender Tania Crene were in good form.

Northland 5 Bayleys Midlands 4
Half time score - 2 – 0 Midlands
Goal scorers- Northland – Sam Webb 2, Stephen O’Connor 2, Aneesh Kesha. Midlands – Johnny Forbes 2, Arif Ali 2,
Midlands went down to Northland 5 – 4 after enjoying a 3 – 0 lead shortly into the second half. Central responded however with three goals in the space of five minutes, including two Sam Webb drag flicks to tie things up a 3 – 3 . In the 55th minute Aneesh Kesha added a field goal and four minutes later Stephen O’Connor added his second goal to put Northland 5 – 3 ahead. Midlands pulled one back with an Arif Ali drag flick in the 60th minute but were not able to further breach the gap. Both keepers had good games, with Sam Elliott stepping up well for Midlands and Ashley Holwell also impressive for Northland. Other standouts included Sam Webb, Stephen O’Connor and Shay Neal for Northland and Chris Thomas, Tim Smith and Johnny Forbes for Midlands.

Men
Scenic Circle Canterbury Cavaliers 2 North Harbour 1
Half time score 1 – 0 Canterbury
Goal scorers- Canterbury – Canterbury - Brad Shaw, Andrew Nation. North Harbour – Simon Brill.
Canterbury pulled off a 2 – 1 upset over previous competition leaders North Harbour.
Brad Shaw put Canterbury into a 1 – 0 half time lead with a brilliant solo effort from 30m out, dribbling through several defenders to crack a reverse shot into the bottom left of the goal in the 22nd minute. In the second half Simon Brill equalised from the top of the circle after he found himself unmarked in the 44th minute, but Canterbury struck again for the match winner in the 64th, when Andrew Nation finished off a volley of shots by one of the Cavalier standouts, Jan Peterson. For Harbour Bryce Collins and Lloyd Stephenson were in good attacking form, but overall the team could not make the most of enjoying slightly more of the possession and attack than the home town side.

Land & Marine Auckland 2 Bordeaux Bakery Wellington 0
Half time score – 0 – 0 Auckland
Goal scorers – Dharmesh Puna, Simon Child.
Auckland guaranteed a themselves a semi-finals position with a 2 – 0 over Wellington, in a match that was played at pace from end to end but was marred by poor trapping and passing. Both goals were scored in the second half. Dharmesh Puna score the first from a penalty corner in the 60th minute. Four minutes later Simon Child scored from the field after being well set up by Jono Brooker who picked up a mistrap and drew the keeper to feed Child at the top of the circle. Auckland keeper Gareth Spittall was named Player of the Day. The defensive players from both sides worked hard.

Central Mavericks 5 Southern Men 3
Half time score – 3 – 1 Central
Goal scorers Central – Nick Wilson, Shaun Matthews, 2, Gabriel Rawcliffe, Chris Clements Southern – Jonathan Pooch 2, Jeremy Botting
Central prevailed in an open game with all eight goals come from the field. Central went up to a 3 – 1 half time lead, but Southern drew things back to 3-3 midday through the second half to put the pressure back on Central. The Mavericks responded well with two further goals. Central’s Australian import Patrick Ward was named Player of the Day for his work in the right midfield.

Women

Tandoori Palace Canterbury Cats 2 North Harbour 1
Half time score – 1 - 1
Goal scorers- Canterbury – Liz Perry, Stacey Carr. North Harbour – Rhianna Buchanan
Player of the Day Stacey Carr scored the winning goal for Canterbury from a penalty corner in the 64th minute, after the Cats and Harbour went into half time locked up 1 – 1. Liz Perry scored first for Canterbury from the field in the 19th minute and Rhianna Buchanan responded a minute before half time for Harbour. For Canterbury defenders Nikki Grimwood and Kate Saunders were as solid as ever. Lizzy Igasan and Australian Michaela Maihailou stood out for Harbour. The loss pushed Harbour out of the top four.

Land & Marine Aucklanders 7 TeRenco Wellington 1
Half time score – 3 - 1
Goal scorers – Auckland – Katie Glynn 4, Krystal Forgesson 2, Hannah Newman. Wellington – Nicola Hunter
Up and coming striker Katie Glynn scored four goals during Auckland’s 7 – 1 romp of Southern, which importantly moved the side into the top four with one round to play. The first half was reasonably even with short outbreaks from both teams. Wellington scored first through Nicola Hunter, but Auckland responded quickly with a Katie Glynn strike from a penalty corner. Forgesson scored shortly after and then the pair combined well for Glynn to score her second to take the half time score to a comfortable 3 – 1. The partnership for Forgesson and Glynn was also a feature of the second half. Kim Noakes also played well for Auckland, while Priya Bhikha and Anita Punt were the pick of the Wellington side.

Central Mysticks 4 Southern Storm 1
Half time score – 2 -1 Central
Goal scorers – Central – Caryn Paewai 2, Moira Senior, Cathryn Finlayson. Southern – Toni Townsend.
Central had too much pace for Southern despite the best efforts of Rebecca Hooper and Vicky Clarke who were standouts on defence. Central opened the scoring through Toni Townsend, but from there failed to keep pace with the speed and finishing of Central. Experienced campaigner Caryn Paewai scored twice with another former Black Stick, Moira Senior chipping another and youngster Cathryn Finlayson, the fourth.