DIVISION 2 WOMEN – PORTLAND 1 d CAVALIERS 0
IT was a tight Division 2 women’s contest over at Portland on the weekend, when Cavaliers made the trip to face the hosts on grass for round nine of Lower South East hockey.
Both teams were evenly matched in the first half with a number of short corners and attacking runs, but defences held strong to prevent a score.
Portland came out firing in the third quarter and found good clearances to their quick young wingers.
Eventually a clearance to Portand’s left wing broke through and Kayley Smith converted the only goal of the match.
The rest of the game was similar to the opening half and Portland’s defence – led by full-back Andrea Thomas – held back Cavaliers to record a 1-0 win.
DIVISION 3 WOMEN – PORTLAND 2 d CAVALIERS 1
CAVALIERS’ Division 3 women made the trip to Portland on Saturday, up against a strong home side.
Both teams struggled with numbers, with only eight players available for Cavaliers, while at times Portland fielded a full side of 11.
That put the hosts in a position of power and after about five minutes of play Portland was able to push past Cavaliers goalie Andrea Zeven, who had saved the previous three attempts.
From there Cavaliers settled and managed to block the continuous attacks.
Back-and-forth play continued into the second half, but Portland was able to convert again and establish a two-goal lead.
But Cavaliers did not back down and hard work paid off when Kate Fabian jumped at a chance to hit the ball into the circle.
Her attack was repelled, but a second attempt saw her on target and it was back to a one-goal game.
Despite best efforts, that remained the scoreline and Portland secured a close win at home.
UNDER 12 BOYS – STRIKERS 6 d REDBACKS 2
THE Lower South East Hockey Association’s Under 12 boys put on a solid display of hockey at Blue Lake Sports Park on Saturday morning.
A 1-0 win to Tigers over West started the day, before Strikers and Redbacks took to the field for another good game.
In the end Strikers’ intensity proved too much, with a 6-2 triumph.
The victors came out firing to earn its first penalty corner in the opening 30 seconds.
Although that attack was repelled, a Jack Sharman pass found Sebastian Ricketts, who scored to take the early lead.
Strikers continued to dominate possession and Sharman controlled the midfield to cause plenty of turnovers.
However, Redbacks’ Josh Milan stood tall in defence and by the five-minute mark his team had settled and began to create its own chances.
Trystan Miller started to show some spark and run on the left wing for Redbacks, but was unable to set up a successful attack.
Strikers seized back some control and Harrison DeGaris stepped up a gear to score his first of four goals for the game.
With a two-goal deficit, Redbacks hit back and a one-on-one against the goal keeper saw Miller rewarded with a goal.
That sparked some confidence, but when DeGaris scored his second before half time, Strikers held a 3-1 advantage.
Strikers looked to put the game away early in the second half and two minutes in Sharman made an old-style baseline run and found DeGaris open, who put it past Milan for his third goal.
But Redbacks refused to accept defeat and continued to prove dangerous on the counter attack, with Strikers’ goal keeper Conner Hagget regularly called into action.
Without his efforts, the match would have been a closer affair.
As the clock wound down Redbacks became frustrated with its inability to score.
That allowed Strikers to step up and dominate the game.
DeGaris scored his fourth goal, while Bailey Kember banged through another for Strikers to see a 6-1 margin.
Redbacks continued to show plenty of heart and eventually scored a second goal from Elliot Barry – his first career goal.
The final minutes saw Redbacks gain the ascendancy, but it was too late to affect the outcome.
CAVALIERS 2 d PORTLAND 0
IN the Under 12 boys competition, Cavaliers recorded a 2-0 victory over a young Portland side.
The first half saw the ball caught in the midfield, as defences held strong under the constant pressure.
However, a first-half goal from Jaxon Bisnov saw Cavaliers with the advantage heading into the break.
By the second half Portland was struggling with its inexperienced players and Cavaliers pounced on the opportunity to further their lead with a Logan Gore goal.
Portland continued to fight until the end, but could not find a way past the strong Cavaliers defence.
