Nelson players on form

Story by: Nelson Mail - Photo by:

Nelson have beaten Hawke's Bay 3-1 in their first crossover match at the national Collier Trophy primary schoolgirls' hockey tournament in Timaru.

Nelson opened the scoring within three minutes through Olivia Lester who trapped the ball on the post and pushed it into the goal off a pass from Maddy Bartle.

Two minutes later, Nelson were awarded an attacking penalty corner from which Katie Milne's shot hit a Hawke's Bay defender's foot in front of goal for a penalty stroke. Brenna Ellis calmly flicked the ball past the keeper for Nelson's second goal.

Nelson then dropped off their intensity, allowing Hawke's Bay to strike back just before halftime with a one-touch hit from the top of the circle. Ten minutes into the second half, Esme Justo dribbled across the top of the circle and shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.

Nelson conceded two penalty corners in the last 10 minutes but defended both of them to complete the 3-1 scoreline. Standouts for Nelson were Lester, Bartle and Nandini Prasad. Nelson now play Taranaki to decide if they are playing off for 9th and 10th or 11th and 12th placings.

Nelson lost a close battle against Southland, going down 1-0 in yesterday's first crossover game at the national Hatch Cup primary schoolboys hockey tournament in Albany.

In a must-win match for 17th-20th placings, Nelson survived an early Southland onslaught before applying pressure on Southland's goal. Both sides had their chances in a scoreless first half, while the desperation from both teams intensified after the restart to a point where green cards were being issued to both teams. With five minutes to go, Southland were awarded a penalty corner with a direct shot deflecting off Nelson's goalie into the goal.

Within seconds of the restart, a Southland player was yellow carded but Nelson couldn't capitalise on their one-man advantage in the remaining five minutes. Jacob King, Jimmy Hay, Tom Froeling and Ashton Richards all impressed for Nelson.