Hockey: St Hilda's scrapes in on goal difference

St Hilda's lost its protest but it matters not a jot, with the home team getting through to the quarterfinals of the Federation Cup in Dunedin this week.

St Hilda's had a late goal against Bethlehem College disallowed because a frisbee, of all things, was said to have affected play in the last game on the opening day.

The flying disc appeared just as St Hilda's was scoring what it thought was the winning goal. Deliberations went on long after the final whistle and officials were unable to reach a decision.

After further deliberations yesterday morning, the officials decided to back the on-field umpire's decision to disallow the goal. The 3-3 draw stood.

That left St Hilda's quarterfinal prospects teetering and Bethlehem College added to the pressure by beating New Plymouth Girls' 2-1 yesterday.

A poor result against Auckland Diocesan in its last round-robin match could have seen St Hilda's slip to third in pool B and miss a spot in the top eight.

Auckland proved too strong, winning 3-1. But that solitary goal proved crucial - St Hilda's nabbed second place by way of superior goal difference.

Co-coach Jeremy Morris was relieved.

''We made it into the top eight on goal difference by one goal. It was just by the skin of our teeth but we got there,'' he said.

St Hilda's had plenty of scoring opportunities but struggled to finish off. It trailed 1-0 at halftime and then fell another goal behind after the resumption.

Midfielder Polly Inglis grabbed the all-important goal midway through the second half before Auckland added a third in the dying stages.

St Hilda's plays St Cuthbert's in one quarterfinal this afternoon, with St Margaret's playing St Matthew's, Auckland Diocesan meeting Wairarapa College and Christchurch schools Rangi Ruru and Villa Maria doing battle.

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