Emily Naylor's NHL Blog
Wow, What a Week!
by Emily Naylor
Wow, what a week!I
It was great to top it off and take out the NHL 2009 with an amazing comeback beating Midlands 4-3 in the final.
On Saturday we played Midlands in a round robin play but knew the score did not matter as we had both take qualified for the final. This meant we wanted to keep a few cards up our sleeves, as some would be needed for the big grand final match.
On Saturday we beat Midlands 2-1 so felt we had a slight psychological edge going into the final. However we knew it would be a real fight and they would come out firing!!
The final on Sunday came along and it was a great match with both teams going for it right from the first whistle.
Both teams had a lot of attacking opportunities and the game was played at a fast pace from end to end.
We scored early in the game with a lovely goal from Piki Hamahona. We went into the half 1-0 up.
At half time we knew they would come out with plenty of enthusiasm so an early goal was crucial.
This is exactly what Midlands did as they took the lead with 2 quick goals, both from penalty corner drag flicks.
Shortly after we replied with a nice goal from Kayla Sharland to equalise the score at 2-2.
Pressure was on and there were some tired legs from the speed of the game. Midlands scored again after a break down penalty corner to go up 3-2.
We had a surge of energy in the last 5 minutes as we were desperately seeking another goal to go into extra time. In the last 30 seconds we did exactly that with Piki scoring from in close.
The full time score was 3-3, meaning we had to go in extra time golden goal.
The first 6 minutes was played with 9 players and if still no score we were to play with 7 for another 6 minutes.
The first 6 minutes went really quickly with both teams trying to hold the ball and not make any mistakes.
The next 6 minutes, with only 7 players, there was a lot of space and no room for error.
In the last few minutes of extra time we were awarded a penatly corner and with just two of us on the top, Kayla Sharland slotted a nice straight shot to win the match!
There was a great pile up as everyone ran onto the field and joined the heap. It was great to get the win, especially to come back like we did.
The whole week was really successful and everyone stepped up and played great hockey consistently during each game!
It was great having such a great management team who created a home away from home environment. The culture within the group was positive and we felt unified as a team.
Last night we had a few drinks to celebrate as well as a great fine sessions with Alice Naylor taking out the most fines for the week, no suprises there!!
Thanks for checking out my blogs here at www.centralhockey.co.nz and I hope its created some interest for you all as proud supporters of Central Hockey.
Cheers
Emily Naylor