Men’s Games
Before going into detail on this week’s matches, a point needs to be raised regarding when players are expected to turn up to the field before a game. It is unbelievably rude and disrespectful – to your coach and team-mates – to turn up late for games or with little time to warm up properly. Recently we have had players arriving after their game has started, despite being urged to allow extra time for travel. There is simply no excuse for this – it is plain selfish and lazy. You are required to be at the field AT LEAST 30 MINS BEFORE YOUR GAME TIME. This is so the coach can go over the line-up, discuss any strategy and warm up sufficiently. Some of the performances lately have reflected this lax attitude to arriving on time – there is no way you can be physically or mentally ready to play by rocking up 5 minutes prior to a game. And it is pointless calling your coach 10 minutes before a game as he will be warming up with the rest of your team. 1s and 2s are in with a great chance of making the finals, but if this slackness persists then both teams are in danger of squandering what could be a very fruitful year.
Now, on to the match reports. 2s returned to the winner’s list but 1s blew points in a 1-1 draw. With all 3 teams at Daceyville on UNSW’s new pitch – and the sun on our backs for the first time in 2 months, we started sluggishly. The pitch was bouncy, there was not much of a warm-up thanks to guys arriving late and our execution was poor. Fortunately our opponents were poorer and we were soon 4-0 up at half time in 2s. It finished 6-0 and should have been a lot more. A hat-trick of seagulls to Matho, one to Ian J, one to Iain W and one to James Dean.
1s obviously thought they would also have a cakewalk but soon found themselves down a goal and playing with very little impetus against a UNSW side bolstered by several players absent in round one. We pulled one back late in an excellent second half but UNSW’s defence was very solid and we struggled to get any real quality shots away. Two points squandered.
3rds quickly went a goal up against the strong UNSW 5th grade outfit, but ended up losing the match 6-3.
Women’s 1st Grade
Result: 2-1 win (1-0 up at halftime) against Moorebank
Goals to Psycho, Cheryl
A tight game between two teams tied for 3rd on the ladder coming into the game. We played a much better style of hockey than the previous week, stringing good passing together for the full game to come away with a very gutsy, well-deserved and enjoyable win. Definitely good for momentum coming into the second round.
Maguettes of the Match: Sarina, Hannah, Radar
Women’s 2nd Grade
Result: 3-2 win against Moorebank
Goals to Michelle (2) and Sonia
With some colourful cheering on the sideline we played a great match. We controlled the game with our skill and although Moorebank scored first it was the only time we let them get ahead in the game. A well deserved win for 2nd Grade.
Maguette of the Match: Amanda
Women’s 3rd Grade
No match report
Women’s 4th Grade
Result: 3-0 loss against Briars 7
Disappointing is the only word I can describe today’s result. We have prided ourselves on our strong defence all year, unfortunately our second half marking was terrible, and our tendency to over-commit in defence and to dribble straight into an opponent’s stick gave Briars 7 their first win of the season, unfortunately against us. For a side that has scored only 3 goals and conceded 37 in 9 games, to conceded 3 against them today was totally unacceptable. To have any chance of the finals this year, we need to turn up with a better attitude, because the way we are playing at present we will struggle against any team, not just the top teams. I am relying on the girls to dig deep next week and play the way we know we can, because this type of performance is not representative of the way we know we can play.
Maguette of the Match: Amanda Bush