Hockey Newsletter No. 7
28 April 2008

On Friday 25 April Hilton hosted the Auckland Grammar First Hockey team from New Zealand. Captained by their brilliant striker Shay Neal who is a member of their men’s Olympic Hockey Squad, they soon took the lead with a well-taken penalty corner variation. Hilton responded with a goal by Nick Deist from a superb pass by Ross Chaplin. In what was developing into a tough and bruising encounter, Louis Taylor put Hilton into the lead after a goalmouth scramble. A brilliant solo effort by Shay Neal put Auckland back on level terms prior to half time. In the second half, a tough touring schedule and altitude saw the Auckland challenge fade and Hilton took command with two penalty corner variations – one by Rory Murtagh and the other by Louis Taylor. Nicolas Deist ended the game with a fine deflection goal to make the final score 5-2 to Hilton. So far on tour Auckland have beaten Bishops and St Charles and drawn with Kearsney.

Courtney Allen and Shay Neal from Auckland Grammar taken at a dinner for the players of both teams at the Fleur-de-Lys Club.

The Auckland Haka before the game started

On Saturday, Hilton travelled to St Charles and soon took a 2-0 lead through goals by Nicholas Deist and Louis Taylor. A combination of heat, a tough game the previous afternoon and a number of yellow cards reduced the game to a midfield battle. Midway through the second half Nick Deist netted his second goal to make the game safe for Hilton. On the final whistle St Charles scored to make the final tally 3-1 to Hilton.

The most impressive result on Saturday was the comeback by the U16A team. They were 0-2 midway through the first half and looked simply dead and buried. Somehow they managed to claw their way back and eventually secured a well deserved 3-2 victory. The Second and Third team continued on their winning way with resounding 5-1 and 8-0 victories respectively. The U16B and C team also secured victories while the U14A’s after a good start wilted in the second half to lose by 2-5. The U14B side also had a tough day and lost their second match.

On Friday evening the players and coaches will be given a talk by the top South African umpires John and Peter Wright together with Clive McMurray. With John having umpired both the Olympic and World Cup Mens’ Hockey Finals this should be a wonderful opportunity for our players to interact personally with the number one ranked umpire in the world. On Saturday John and Peter will be umpiring the First Team Match. Once again, if there are any concerns please email me at gt@hiltoncollege.com

Gavin