Indians delighted to draw with favoured CBD | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

It's said that football is a funny old game but after three Midlands Intercity hockey matches on Saturday, the analogy could be transferred to that ball sport.

On paper Rotorua Indians were the underdogs up against University CBD - third-from-bottom versus third-from-top doesn't really take guesswork to pick a winner.

But Indians pulled out all the stops and, had it not been for a late penalty corner resulting in a drag flick goal, then they would have walked away victors. Instead they held their heads high for a three-all draw.

That result put the ball in Rotorua Aces' metaphorical court. Equal on points but behind in goal difference to University CBD, a win against Hamilton Old Boys would have leapfrogged them over the university side into third place.

But no matter how hard they tried they couldn't capitalise on opportunities. Balls went wide, high, or straight to the keeper, if they got as far as the circle that is. Instead Hamilton Old Boys ran rings around them, getting the Aces players wound up with each other and taking advantage of open spaces.

Tuterangi Raharuhi should have scored more than the one he put away before half-time. Instead Owen Mitai-Ngatai was left with a sore head when a ball hit him instead of the net, the Hamilton Old Boys goalkeeper protected his goal and the defence was able to take possession.

Aces captain Stephen Te Moni said knowing what Indians had achieved as their match was about to start put them in a different mindset.

"I think we went into the game a little too amped, we knew what the game meant, we felt a bit of pressure," he said.

"We're obviously very disappointed that we didn't take the opportunity to go third outright but we can take a lot from this game.

"The losing feeling isn't one that's been around for ages, this was a reality check, bringing us back down to earth."

It was a fast-paced game, and matched the speed and urgency Rotorua Indians put University CBD under.

Indians' spokesman Dipak Dheda said the result and overall match play was something they had been gunning for for much of the season.

"This was a totally different game to the one we played last week," he said.

"We fought for the whole 70 minutes and didn't have any major lapses. They're a classy team but we defended well and took opportunities. It's a reward for believing in our structures. It's always been 'it's a disappointment' after other matches, frustration, whatever, because we know we're a better team than our results. It was pleasing to get this result."

University CBD were awarded around nine penalty corners, compared to Indians' three. A combination of tight defending from Paul Wyllie and Bhavesh Sima and some nifty stick work from Jayvant Dhanjee and Jujar Singh gave the Indians the edge they needed.

Rotorua Aces women also suffered a home defeat at the hands of Fraser Tech but it wasn't the 7-2 drubbing that hit them the last time. With half-time at 0-0 the second half was for the taking, but despite a few opportunities the match ended up 2-1 to the visitors.

"I must give credit to our defence for holding them out for as long as they did because they had so many opportunities," captain Pirihita Rangitauira said. "We just couldn't score ourselves."

Parekura Rangitauira scored Aces' only goal, a solo effort pitting her against the Fraser Tech goalkeeper.

• RESULTS:

Premier Men: Otumoetai 4 Onewhero Pukekohe 1, Thames Valley 12 Tauranga Old Boys 2, Rotorua Indians 3 (Jayvant Dhanjee, Manjinder Singh, Jujar Singh) University CBD 3, Kohekohe 4 Pukekohe Indians 3, Hamilton Old Boys 3 Rotorua Aces 1 (Tuterangi Raharuhi), Suburbs Piako 5 Te Awamutu 0, Fraser Tech 5 Varsity Reserves 3, Mount Maunganui had the bye.

Men's points (one round to play before the play-offs): Thames Valley 34, Fraser Tech 34, University CBD 27, Rotorua Aces 26, Kohekohe 26, Mount Maunganui 24, Suburbs Piako 20, Pukekohe Indians 20, Hamilton Old Boys 20, Otumoetai 18, Onewhero Pukekohe 9, Varsity Reserves 8, Rotorua Indians 7, Tauranga Old Boys 5, Te Awamutu 1.

Premier Women: Otumoetai 13 Onewhero Pukekohe 1, Fraser Tech 2 Rotorua Aces 1, Te Awamutu 2 Hamilton Old Girls 1, Thames Valley 2 University CBD 2.

Women's points (with two rounds to play before semifinals): Otumoetai 33, Fraser Tech 28, Rotorua Aces 22, Te Awamutu 22, University CBD 15, Onewhero Pukekohe 7, Thames Valley 6, Hamilton Old Girls 5.