Otago men rattled in three late goals to defeat Hawke’s Bay 5-1 at the National Championship in Dunedin yesterday.
The victory secured the home team top spot in Pool B and more importantly a spot in the tier 1 top four round.
Otago striker Kieran O’Connor opened the scoring from a penalty corner in the ninth minute.
Hawke’s Bay drew level through Hamish Gilbert five minutes later.
Neither side could crack each other’s defence in the second quarter.
Otago edged ahead when striker James Nicolson struck late in the third.
Then there was a late flurry of goals. Otago netted three in the final five minutes to stretch the margin.
Canterbury beat North Harbour 2-0 in the other Pool B match and is through to the top four as well.
Wellington edged Auckland in a shootout, but both sides will join Otago and Canterbury in the top four.
In the tier 1 women’s competition, Otago lost 3-2 Hawke’s Bay and will play in the bottom four round.
North Harbour, Auckland, Canterbury and Manawatu will advance to the top four.
Otago is undefeated in the men’s tier 2 competition but had a bye yesterday, while Otago Country was edged 3-2 in a shootout with Southland.
In the women’s tier 2, Central Otago suffered a 2-0 loss to Tasman but Southland beat Wairapara 2-1 in a shootout.
National Championship
Day 3 scores. —
Tier 1 men: Waikato beat Manawatu 5-1, Canterbury beat North Harbour 2-0, Wellington beat Auckland (2-2) 3-1 in a shootout, Otago beat Hawke’s Bay 5-1.
Tier 1 women: Manawatu beat Waikato 2-1, North Harbour beat Auckland 2-0, Hawke’s Bay beat Otago 3-2, Canterbury beat Wellington 3-1.
Tier 2 women: Tasman beat Central Otago 2-0, Canterbury beat North Harbour 1-0, Northland beat NZDF 4-2, Southland beat Wairarapa(3-3), 2-1 in a shootout.
Tier 2 men: Southland beat Otago Country (3-3) 3-2 in a shootout, North Harbour beat Tasman 2-1, Canterbury beat South Canterbury 5-1, Counties-Manukau beat NZDF 2-1.
