Otago teams end tournament in style

John Daniel.
John Daniel.
Otago teams finished strongly at the national tournament in Whangarei yesterday.

The men’s team scored early in its bronze medal match with South Canterbury.

Co-captain Seb Buddle slammed in a reverse stick shot in the seventh minute.

Otago had plenty more opportunities to score but had to settle for a 1-0 victory.

The Otago women were more deadly in front of goal, putting three past the Northland goalie in a 3-1 win to secure fifth place.

Both results represent a decent return.

Neither team had much of a build-up and both sides were humbled in the their opening matches.

The men lost 6-1 to Canterbury but got better with each match, coach John Daniel said.

"It is an extremely good result for us, given the shortness of the campaign and the preparation time. It is a very satisfying result for the whole team unit," Daniel said.

"With each game we looked at things ...and the guys were pretty honest about themselves and how we could make improvements."

Co-captain Buddle and Nathan Gilbert played with resolve each game and formed a staunch spine in the middle.

Vinnie O’Connor defended strongly, while Stirling Milicich was dynamic in the midfield.

He scored a magnificent goal which was disallowed.

The women had struggled to convert opportunities into goals but were more clinical against Northland.

"Sarah Thomas, Greta Pearce and Holly Jones were on fire up front today," coach Nigel Ben-Gurion said.

Midfielder Tory Dougherty was nursing a hamstring complaint all week and had to drop back into the defence and did a terrific job.

Annabel Girvan was another to stand out on defence.But the player of the tournament for Otago was midfielder Hannah McLean.

"She has not had a great deal of experience at this level and she has just absolutely blossomed. She is doing everything thing the coach has asked her for and played some very attacking hockey.

"We’re pretty happy that the young team we have got will come back next year fitter and stronger. All the girls are on board with the programme and are very keen to keep it going."

Southland beat Canterbury 3-1 in a shootout to win the women’s title, while in the men’s tournament Canterbury downed Northland 1-0.

Add a Comment