Hockey women claim 'three-peat'

The Marlborough senior women’s hockey team maintained their firm grip on the Pope Shield at Nelson’s Saxton Field over the weekend.

Marlborough got their hands on the prestigious top-of-the-south trophy in both 2018 and 2019. With there being no tournament last year because of COVID the Maroon and Whites were hunting a “three-peat” this year.

They were up against some tough opposition from Nelson and West Coast in what proved to be a tightly-fought competition.

First up on Saturday, Marlborough beat the Coasters 4-2. A hat-trick to Veronica Hardman set up the victory, while Sara Stocker converted the one penalty corner that came Marlborough’s way to complete a top team effort.

Coach Denise Lloyd described it as a “very physical game”, which they led all the way through.

“They were very competitive and gave us no space … it was just a matter of who took their chances best.”

Earlier, Nelson had drawn their match with West Coast 2-2, meaning that if Marlborough won or drew against Nelson the Shield would be theirs.

In the decider Marlborough quickly went out to a 2-0 lead, courtesy of two more goals from Hardman.

Nelson scored their first soon after the halftime break and then drew level with five minutes to play as the home side threw everyone into attack, taking their goalie off in a bid to grab a winner.

“It was a good effort by the girls,” said Denise. “I’m pretty stoked with their commitment and determination. It wasn’t always pretty but it can’t always be pretty.

“We had four young ones in there [Samara Williams, Tilly Sorenson-Brown, Maddie and Millie Large] who stood up very well.”

The side also benefitted from the goal-scoring efforts of Hardman, plus the tournament experience of Pip Lunn, goalie Grace Davies, Sylvie Heard and Yvonne Boyd.

The Marlborough women’s B team also competed strongly in the Gladstone Cup competition, beating West Coast 3-1, drawing 1-1 with Buller before losing 5-1 to a Nelson side containing a strong core of Masters players.

Coach Grant McMillan was pleased with their efforts, described it as a “rebuilding year” and pinpointing defender Claudia Clark and midfielder Bailey McNair as stand-outs.

The Marlborough men’s team, vying for the Maadi Cup, produced a much-improved effort in what boiled down to a tight contest. They lost 2-1 to Nelson, beat Buller 5-2 then lost 3-2 to West Coast.

A slow start cost Marlborough in their first match on Friday, Nelson scoring twice in the first 15 minutes. However, the visitors quickly regrouped and improved as the game progressed. They dragged one goal back but, despite their late dominance, could not find the equaliser.

The Buller game, played later that day, followed a similar pattern, Marlborough going down 2-0 early on. However, five goals, including a brace to Ollie King, got the job done.

The West Coast clash was very evenly-contested, tied up 1-1 at halftime. Two well-executed penalty corner goals saw the Coasters take a 3-1 lead but, despite pulling one back, Marlborough couldn’t find a late strike to tie it up.

Marlborough keeper Taylor Kerr and midfielder King were named in the tournament team, while defender Alex Pearce, plus MBC players Gus Varney and Sam Hamilton stood up well.

The unbeaten West Coast side claimed the cup, their first triumph in a tournament involving all three top of the south rivals in 30 years.