The Upper Clutha Black, Kwik Sticks Years 7 and 8, took on the Maniototo Stingers in their sixth match of the season.
Despite having much of the possession, the Blacks struggled to penetrate the Stingers’ defence. Perseverance paid off and two great strikes from Max Porter and Oscar Crowe saw the Blacks enter the second half 2-0 up.
A well-worked penalty corner move enabled Abbey Ragg to get another goal, but the Stingers relentless attacking and dogged determination saw them score in the dying minute of the game. The 3-1 win sees Black maintain its fourth position in the league table.
Upper Clutha Gold had an easier time of it winning 7-0 against Cromwell Blue. The Senior B team, Years 9 and 10, had a convincing 8-1 win against Cromwell Blue. With most of their players back from injury and illness, the team held their positions well and made use of swift and accurate passes to move the ball around. Austrian hostel student Franzi got the team off to a positive start with an early first goal, while James Doherty, Penelope and Thomas Benson kept up the attacking pace to slot home some more goals. Persistent defence by Zoe Eckoff limited Cromwell’s ability to get into the circle and score.
The women’s team played their best hockey of the season when they took on top-of-the-league team, Queenstown.
Queenstown took an early lead after a successful penalty, despite fullback Lisa Templeton’s supreme effort to try to save the ball on the line. Shortly afterwards, Upper Clutha equalised from a penalty corner when captain Becs Holland nailed the ball into Queenstown's goal. Queenstown piled on the pressure in the second half and managed to score another goal; however, their pressure led to being issued with a green card for stick hacking and they were lucky it was just the one. Despite dominating in the last quarter and putting on a fine display of hockey, Upper Clutha could not get past the strong Queenstown defence and lost 1-2.