Alpiners Match Report - 3rd Nov

It was a win and a loss for the Brooker Travel Alpiners on the opening weekend of the Premier Hockey League.

A barmy Dunedin morning met the women as they prepared to take on the Falcons, with the home advantage becoming more prevalent as it edged towards game time. The game was cagey early, as both sides came to grips with their new teammates and the pressure of playing on television.

After a bit of back and forth it was Falcons’ forward Kelsey Smith who scored the game’s first goal. She managed to convert too, putting her side 2-0 to the good. Despite a good fightback from our ladies, Michaela Curtis struck against the run of play to make it 3-0 right before half-time. Kirsty Nation stood up well to save the conversion, but there was work to be done in the second half.

It was wave after wave of Alpiners attack in the second half, but things just didn’t quite fall as Tessa Reid was twice denided from penalty corners, as Falcons keeper Julia Gluyas ensured it would be her side walking away with the points. Others to impress for the home side were Jessie Anderson and Tessa Jopp.

The sun really came out by the time the men got underway, and they were determined to get off to a good start. After a few early nerves, James Nicolson got the ball rolling with a superb volley, and the lads just did not stop. He converted, before Sam Lane cooly slotted a dragflick to make it 3-0 midway through the second quarter.

After the break, the pressure kept on coming, as Daniel Torr first set up Nick Findlay for an easy tap-in, before delivering another easy finish for Finn Ward not long after. With Nick able to convert his effort, it meant our lads were 6-0 up and cruising! There was certainly some rust, so it was natural that the game somewhat petered out, with a consolation strike from Jonty Elmes getting the Falcons on the board.

Dan was impressive off the bench, whilst Malachi Buschl and Patrick Ward dominated the midfield area, showing why they are capped Black Sticks.

A pleasing start for our Brooker Travel Alpiners, who will be looking to build when they host the Mavericks this weekend!