Hockey tournament a success

Game 1 vs Wanganui Collegiate School

The St Paul's Collegiate School boys got off to a nervy start against a good Wanganui side who were coming off the back of a big first-up win yesterday. It took the first quarter for the boys to get a handle on their basics and confidence. A handful of opportunities for both sides went by without being converted. Leaving the score at 0-0 for the half time break. St Paul's boys started to gain the upper hand with the lion’s share of possession in the third quarter. A well built up attack early on ended with Javahn Jones getting the ball back from an initial save by the Wanganui goalkeeper and slotted it into the goal. Continued dominance didn’t payoff for St Paul's, instead a quick ball into the circle from a free hit was touched by a Wanganui player and ended up in the net. Heading into the fourth quarter St Paul's pressed hard. An inability to convert chances especially from penalty corners, made a draw look inevitable. Until Sam Lints found himself in a good spot in front of the goal with mere minutes left. He one-time swept the ball past the outstretched keeper to give St Paul's the lead 2-1. This is how the score stayed. A good first performance from the boys.

Man of the match: Cameron Hopping

Game 2 v Paraparaumu College

A fast start saw Javahn Jones score a back stick shot within ten seconds of the start of the game. Unfortunately, that was the end of the celebrations for a while. A bag full of quality chances went begging for the St Paul's boys. Fortunately, Paraparaumu couldn’t create much in the way of opportunities allowing St Paul's to maintain their narrow lead. Midway through the fourth quarter, a baseline carry from Sam Lints found Benjamin Allen free on the far post to tap in over the sprawling keeper. Despite not performing as well as they would have hoped, another three points in the bag puts the boys in a good position going into tomorrow’s game.

Man of the match: Cameron Bird

Clean sheet: Nicholas Parrott

Game 3 v Rathkeale College

St Paul's boys started slowly against a fast and physical Rathkeale College side who were also unbeaten so far. Rathkeale made the boys pay with a turnover high up the field ending up with an easy tap in for the team in green. A stroke was awarded for St Paul's boys when a well-placed flick hit the Rathkeale defender on the line. Sam Lints calmly placed the ball above the keeper's outstretched stick to level the scores. Our boys gained some confidence from the goal and started to control the game more in the second quarter. A composed finish from Javahn Jones on his ever-trusty reverse, after some great build-up play by Cameron Bird and Sam Lints gave St Paul's a well-earned lead going into half time. Two missed chances in the third quarter for St Paul's kept Rathkeale in the game. Numerous counter-attacks were defended by the boys. Ethan Bidois was the man of the match in goal, making several game-changing saves. A tense fourth quarter got underway with Rathkeale still pushing for an equaliser. A well-worked counterattack carry by Sam Lints set Javahn Jones up for his second reverse stick finish of the day giving St Paul's some breathing room with only five minutes remaining. No more goals meant the game ended with St Paul's taking the spoils 3-1. An intense and hard-fought game from both teams.

Game 4 v Wairarapa College

St Paul's boys started with an improved focus today creating some quality early chances although none finding the back of the net. It took a handful of penalty corners chances before Trey Lincoln managed to sweep it home after a breakdown at the top. Continued domination in the second quarter by St Paul's didn’t result in any change to the score. A tense third quarter saw the umpires start to influence the game with an over-eagerness to show cards. This trend continued in the fourth quarter. However, St Paul's boys showed good resilience to score two high-quality goals late in the fourth quarter. A strong forehand hit for Sam Lints and a forehand tap in for Javahn Jones sealed the win and a place in the final tomorrow for St Paul’s.

Man of the match: Sam Lints.

Game 5 v Wellington College (Final)

The final of the Lower North Island Premiership started with a couple of half-chances for both teams that were unable to be taken. St Paul's was able to establish control of the game with more possession and more attacking opportunities. Wellington was limited to relying on quick counterattack chances that the St Paul's defenders managed to deal with. A scoreless first half ended leaving only 30 minutes for a winner to be decided. St Paul's managed to earn a penalty corner early in the third quarter which was perfectly executed to give the boys wearing gold the lead. Sam Lints with the final touch. A fast counterattack for St Paul's started with Cameron Bird who linked with Sam Lints. Lints found Javahn Jones free at the top of the circle to shoot past the advancing keeper. A Wellington defender managed a touch, but Harrison Bond was well positioned on the far post to ensure the ball ended in the back of the net. Wellington College pressed forward in the final quarter of the game. However, the St Paul's defence stood firm and kept their third clean sheet in five games to seal the win 2-0. A convincing performance that earned St Paul’s the title of Lower North Island Premiership Champions!