The women’s teams had a bye last weekend, while the men came away with two wins and a loss. 1st grade went down 1-2 to Manly, which was the reverse of 2nd grade’s 2-1 win. 3rd grade continued their strong lead-up to the finals with a 3-2 win over Briars.
Men’s 1st Grade
Result: lost 2-1 to Manly
Goal: Darren D.
Looking to get our mojo back after a jittery two months since we sat 2nd on the table, we started well and soon went 1 up through Darren’s clinical strike. But shortly after the break Manly were level as we played statues in the D. And 5 minutes from time we had an appalling penalty stroke decision go against us to seal the match. Great workrate and effort but again lacking the smarts heading deep into attack. With three very tough games to come, we could miss the finals if UNSW storm home.
Men’s 2nd Grade
Result: beat Manly 2-1.
Goals: Ian J 2.
Our aim was to continue the intensity and toughness displayed in the second half against Syd Uni the previous week. And at halftime we were all over them and playing our best hockey of the season. Deft passing, great athleticism and patience on the ball had Manly at 6s and 7s. Ian’s cracking undercut clanged in off the post midway through the first half to put us ahead. And when Nick chased down a through ball for Rob to shoot from a tight angle into a defender’s foot, Ian’s stroke doubled the advantage. Alas, after the break our workrate through the midfield dropped off and we lost structure. Manly got one back when we made a complete hash of a 3-on-1 in defence (we had the 3) and we were lucky to hold them out really. Still, we stay 6 points ahead of Syd Uni in the battle for the last finals spot and are building nicely for September.
Men’s 3rd Grade
No match report.