Game reports from Round 9 local hockey matches that were played over last weekend, 19 to 21 June 2009.

Division 1 Women

West 4 defeated Riddoch Strikers 0

With both teams missing key players, Strikers and West faced each other late on Friday night. Throughout the first half, time and time again, the Strikers defenders held off the offensive drive from the West attackers and by half time the score was only one nil.

With some excellent attacking moves through their midfield by key players Michelle Clarke and Carly Emerson West were able to increase their lead by another 3 goals by the final siren. Although a one-sided score line, Strikers were unlucky not to score with the intensity of their attack pushing the West defenders back to the goal line on a number of occasions.

Goalie Kate Fabian made many great saves throughout the game, the highlight being a brilliant diving save swiping the ball off the goal line.

Division 1 Men

Cavaliers 0 defeated by Redbacks 2

Coming off the back of a good touch up from tigers the week before,Cavaliers had some ground to make up.

The game started off at a good pace, both attacks had many opportunities, but both teams defence had to work overtime to deny the other team from scoring. The game stayed scoreless until late in the second half when, for a five minute period, Cavaliers seemed to switch off. Redbacks made the most of it and converted 2 goals.

Cavaliers turned back on, but it was all to late and Redbacks had the game won at 2-0. Cavaliers came away happy with the result as it was the first time they showed each other they could play as a team.

Division 2 Men

Riddoch Strikers 1 def West 0

Strikers took on the young West outfit on a sunny Sunday morning on the turf at Blue Lake Sports Park. West attacked early as the Strikers side with a few new faces took a while to settle. Shaun Slattery & Rob Stephenson in defence had their work cut out for them as the West forwards played havoc attacking the Strikers goals. David Coombe was playing like there was a wall in front of goals repelling all attacking shots at goals with ease.

The Strikers eventually settled and the game was played out to half time with the bulk of the play through the mid field. Darren Cox & Ben Provis started to work into the game with Stephen Mitchell & Colin Wetherill carrying the ball through the midfield, allowing for the Strikers forwards to start working into the game.

Adam Coombe & Justin Spong were standing up in defence as well as attack to start to see the tide of the game turn in favour of the Strikers. West then found another gear and started to play like they did in the first half and the Strikers defence was once again under immense pressure. Nick Copping then made the move that would turn the game. He moved Darren Cox forward and Chris Rogers to a sweeping half back. This resulted in a fast break and the Strikers were rewarded with a short corner with less than a minute to play.

The Strikers knew that this would be the last play of the match, so they went with their short corner variation, which they had rarely practised. They played the short corner with precision and Darren Cox scored from the set position to score the Strikers match winning goal with only seconds remaining. The match was a friendly, well contested match which West was unlucky to not walk away with a point.

Final Score - Riddoch Strikers 1 (Darren Cox) d West 0

Portland 1 lost to Tigers 4

The Tigers took on Portland at their home ground at Nelson Park in Portland on Saturday and showed the locals how to play grass hockey. They came out full of fire with plenty of sting in their game.

The Tiger forwards gave Portland goalie, Alex Carn, the Under 15 goalkeeper who was standing in for the regular goalie, a welcome to Div 2 hockey that he won't forget in a hurry. Alex defended his territory strongly until Tigers slotted their first goal in midway through the first half.

Portland rebounded and had several short corner attacks on goal in the remainder of the half but were not able to penetrate. The game was fast and feisty with the play going the full length of the field on many occasions to be repelled by good defence on both sides. The score was 1-0 to the Tigers.

The game continued at the same frenetic pace in the second half until midway through the Tigers scored two goals a few minutes apart. Portland managed their only goal through youngster Ben Harris and Tigers followed up with another goal late in the game.

The skill and experience of the older Tigers was too much for the Portland youth who are team building this year and are ‘blooding' many youngsters into their senior ranks.

Final Score - Tigers 4 d Portland 1

Division 3 Women

Tigers 4 defeated Portland 1

The weather in Portland surprised everyone, with the sun shining in the early afternoon which made for a great change, considering some of the wet conditions that have been played in the previous weeks.

Both teams started strong and some were tiring early making use of the benches. The tigers went into attack, and, not being so used to playing on grass, had to make use of some short passes, which eventually led to thier first goal.

Quickly, Tigers went into attack again, and with Portland defense working hard, the ball caught portland off guard hitting a foot behind the goalie resulting in a penalty stroke. Tara-Lee Doll took the stroke successfully scoring Tigers second.

Portland tried hard to fight back with thier attack winning a few short corners, but the great defensive work of the tigers girls, kept them from scoring in the first half.

The second half saw both teams feeling a little weary from the warmer than expected conditions, but it didn't stop Portland from getting thier first score on the board. Tigers kept up the attack and scored thier fourth, sealing the victory.

Final Score - Tigers 4 d Portland 1