As often happens with these 9am games, we were a little slow off the mark. The Mozzies were full of energy, pressed us very hard, and put us under pressure at every opportunity. We were pinned down in our half for the majority of the first quarter, and couldn’t really seem to link any passes together. Ellie made some fantastic saves to keep us in the game, despite having the sun in her eyes. We finally succumbed to the pressure, though, with the Mozzies being awarded a short corner with seconds to go in the quarter. Their hitter went for power over placement, and even though Khalia got a stick to the ball, it ricocheted up into the top right corner. 1-0 down at quarter time.

The second quarter started with more of the same, but about 6 minutes in there was a distinct momentum switch. There was no particular inciting incident, but suddenly we were winning our one on ones, and our passes were finding players in space. We were finally playing how we knew we could. Our defenders got a well earned break as Pinney and Birdy started carving up the midfield, and Soph and Tegan made fantastic inroads up front. With a couple of minutes left in the half, Maya injected the ball into the D, and Soph got a feather touch on the ball to put it past the keeper, 1-1 now the score. Soph nearly got another, when a hail mary hit into the D with 10 seconds on the clock found her completely free. Unfortunately the deflection went straight onto the keeper’s pads, but our tails were definitely up leading into half time.

The momentum stayed with us in the third quarter, with our halves making damaging runs down the sides, our midfield out-skilling them in the middle, and our strikers outpacing them up front. We created opportunities aplenty, but our option-taking let us down at times, allowing the Mozzies to easily defuse the situation. Their keeper made plenty of saves to keep them in the hunt.

We had a nervy start to the final quarter, but consolidated quickly and soon had control of the game once again. Unfortunately, it was the same story as before; we were entering the circle with relative ease, we just couldn’t put the ball into the net. Although we were able to apply attacking pressure until the dying seconds, it simply wasn’t to be, the score remaining 1-1.

The result, as well as other results across the grade, mean that our finals fate is no longer in our own hands. We need to pick up a win next week, and Manly need to lose or draw in order for us to make finals. Not the position we wanted to be in, but we still have a chance to finish off the season on a high. Hopefully the hockey gods are smiling down on us next weekend.

Special thanks to Maya, Llew, and Izzy, who all doubled up from 5s. Your contributions were invaluable!

Best and Fairest:

3^rd Place: Khalia and Birdy

2^nd Place: Ellie

1^st Place: Soph

Well, the Sydney Uni Masters team faced its ‘do or die’ match last night – beat Easts and make the semi finals; not beat Easts and spend another year in the geriatric hockey wastelands.

For the first time in a long time we were able to get most of ‘the band back together’, actually fielding a team made up of just our own squad and not having to call up some of our Legends brethren to make up the numbers.

An early setback was Aaron ‘the enforcer’ Lacey leaving us with no sub but not having to manage the player rotation for the game.

Sydney Uni got off to a great start when good build up play saw Dan ‘The Man’ Pearce penetrating the circle and shooting true, only to see Ian ‘Little John’ Dyson claim a last-gasp touch to claim the goal.

Uni continued to control the game, and after a few botched final passes and entries into the circle won a penalty corner which Jimmy ‘I’ll not be payin’ for that!’ Crabb buried into the Easts net (along with a couple of Easts players !).

Half time soon came with the score Sydney Uni 2, Easts 0 – and a semi final berth within reach.

The second half continued like the first, with Uni dominating possession and any attacking raids by Easts swifty closed down by Mick ‘Dr Bott’ Irby and Phil ‘Pricey’ Price playing at the back.

A few more circle penetrations, some duffed corners and lightning plays (well, as lightning as a bunch of 50 – 60 year olds can be) ultimately led to Michael ‘Briggsy’ Briggs rocketing the ball into the net for Uni’s third & final goal for the match.

Full time: Sydney Uni 3, Easts 0 – semi finals here we come !

Unfortunately some of the guys were so excited at the result, they immediately dashed off to tell their family and friends of our success so weren’t able to stay for a team group photo but those who did enjoyed a celebratory beverage in the car park – to contemplate life, the universe and beating Macarthur in next week’s semi.

The Crowd went “AHHhhhhhhhh”

The Crowd Went “Hot Damn” as the se—st team in SUHC* took the field to take on Moorebank-Liverpool, and boy wasn’t there a score to settle. They had beaten us in Round 1 earlier this year, but we’d knocked them off in the Grand Final three years ago (remember, before Covid….)

Big Daddy Ant rallied the troops and set the game plan. Protect the house and score more goals than they do.

As the first quarter started, the Boiz in Blue settled in to take control of the game. With powerful ball movement from the backline, we found miles of space up the line and the forwards could smell blood in the water.

The midfield showed their dominance using their speed, experience and smouldering good looks to work the 1-2’s, working our way high into opposition territory, it was obvious “Be The Ball” was at the forefront of everyone’s minds. The defence was rock solid, even the forwards were back tackling. Some say if Ant hadn’t of executed one of the cleanest tackles I’ve seen in a while, he would still be sliding to this day.

But Moorebank weren’t going to go down without a tussle. With a charge up the right sideline, and a ‘tackle’ that would have made any South African proud, they managed to get their first Short Corner for the day, which was however ultimately no match for the strength and charisma that our backline possess.

The day was looking good, but then disaster struck. The mighty Stallion Max Loxton, the work horse for the team, read the Moorebank midfield like it was yesterday’s newspaper to turn the ball over at half way but in doing so pulled up lame. He was very glad we weren’t out at Randwick so no green screens were needed, but this left a lot of miles to be covered with a lot of time left on the clock.

The contest was fierce, but the Boiz in Blue had their foot on the accelerator and with another beautiful turnover from the midfield, found Will “Pyjamas” Shuler perched on top of the D to put it past the keep. 1 up, but the job was not done.

As the fourth quarter started to tick down Moorebank made a final push. With what I call witchcraft, the whistle blew and both arms from the umpire went up. This time they were dialed in, and they slid a drag flick past the postie to even the scoreboard.

With beautiful smell of a BBQ wafted across the field, the Boiz in Blue got hungry, not only for a snag. From the back of the pack Lee “WHAT!!!” Baker had great vision throwing a long ball with pin-point accuracy, I mean he could thread a needle at 10 paces, which again found Will. With some fancy stick-work that only those forwards have, he worked his way into the D and slotted a beautiful back stick into the net. The top of it.

From there, the game was in the bag. The composure and experience shown was a sight to behold and has left the PL3 boys in equal 3^rd on the table and excited for a run into the second half of the season.

Final Score 2-1 to the Boiz in Blue.

3 Players Player points went to Will and 2 to Big Daddy Ant with heaps of players getting 1 point.

The Umpires awarded Will 3 points (Justin Knott is still waiting for his autograph) and 2 went to Bede “Justin’s Coach” Johnston.

*TBC

Photo captures the intense post game analysis.

Ryde Black vs Sydney University

A game for the ages

The odds were stacked against us. No points from 8 previous matches, last on the ladder. Our warriors were undaunted. We faced Moorebank-Liverpool, a club with a fearsome reputation. We were a depleted bunch, with some absent figures, and some just from the big night beforehand.

The game was like no other, this team was second last on the ladder, so we knew it was perhaps our best chance at a draw or even a win. Dare we dream so high? ScoMo just won against the odds, pulling out a resounding 51.5% of the two party preferred. Could we follow in his footsteps? We’re a diverse bunch with many talents.

Our spirits were dampened by an early goal by Moorebank, but obviously this author is not to blame for that, despite his position as a defender. But we soon evened the score after securing a penalty stroke for one of the most blatant acts of cheating since sandpaper-gate. Which in this case was the Moorebank defender being struck in the foot on the goal line while facing the other way on a short corner. Vasu made no mistake, and we were even again. 1-1 going into the break at half time. We could smell our first competition point.

The early part of the second half was mainly fought in the midfield, with few forays into the goal mouth with any real danger. There were a few half-chances, but both sides were holding fast. Steadily, our team found another gear. They were slowing and we were connecting. It was if they were avocados and the field was toast. As millennials and Gen-Y (mostly) we knew what to do with those ingredients, and we smashed ‘em. Suddenly half chances became real chances and we scored two great goals. Ashwin capped off a great team goal, and Anei showed why his speed was to be feared when he managed to slot one home that his opponents assumed he’d never reach.

We were ahead 3-1 with about a quarter to go. Tensions were running high on the Moorebank side, as they started getting testy with each other and us. Far be it for us to waste time, or be unsporting, but I think it’s fair enough to take a second or two before taking a free hit. As the minutes ticked away, our game improved, and theirs stayed the same. We were stalwart in defence and menacing in attack. The final buzzer sounded and we were the victors. If we knew the club song we may have sung it, this was a rare moment. But instead we drank in the victory, and a few amber fluids, and somehow it made it all worthwhile. We were now second last on the ladder. Champions of the bottom of the ladder grudge match. Though to Moorebank’s credit, it was a very sporting affair, no fights, no cards, no harsh words. So it does likely remain to be seen which nice guys will finish last this season in SL2.

Sorry, that was round 9. This was round 11, and our opponents were one of the two dominant Ryde teams in our division. Despite heroic efforts, we fell 3-1. Obviously their goals were rubbish and lucky and our goal was the product of the finest teamwork since the Manhattan Project.

We had our moments, both laudatory and regrettable. Some passages of play would make our highlights reel, including a very nearly scored brilliant last-second full field goal, and some would feature heavily in our fines for the season, such as the airswings and the hits from defensive 16s that went directly to their forwards, on their foresticks most commonly. But this was not our day, and the score was probably a fair reflection of that.

This season has been, for me, characterised by playing with great mates, with a great attitude, against great odds. The scores racked up against us are daunting, and morale should be lower. It’d be nice to play against teams that we would be more competitive against, but such is the fate we’ve been dealt. The guys keep showing up, and play with great team spirit. So although this week, and probably will for most other weeks left in the competition, we ended up on the losing side of the score, it’s a great team that works well together, and gets better game to game, and does it all with humour, after-game refreshment and good times.

Back row L-R: Sri Puthi, Luis Verbeck, Anei Thou, Mark Harris, Aaron Lacey, Michael Balk, Phil Towers, Haydn Marshall, Ahwin Bhana
Front row: Edan Lacey, Vasu Pankhania, Dominic Metcalfe

– Joel Bedford

Midwinter, midweek evening, cold and wet. Parramatta road a car park. Long day at work. Might be time to drive out to Homebush and play some Vets hockey!

Uni C Grade is suffering nose bleed this year, sitting second on the ladder after a half decade during which we rarely troubled the scorers. This game against bottom team from Penrith, short a couple of players, was perhaps more a battle for motivation and against the elements than a hockey challenge.

It was a sunny May morning and two titans were about to do battle for the North West Sydney women’s division D, pole position Sydney Uni 9s grade and the dreaded Briars 5th grade. Our valiant 9th Grade women began with the usual pre-match warm up where the heat of the day truly started to make its presence known. Half a bottle of sunblock and a brisk jog around the field later and it was time to begin.

From the very start, both teams showed grit and determination for control of the game with fluctuating possession. Briars however took the upper hand and began pouring pressure on the Sydney defence. However the ever cool and collected defenders Claudia Hall and Hillary Cairns, would begin to turn the tide. Continuously connecting balls to and from our stoic halves and up the sidelines, allowed for several rapid counter attacks that would force Briars back into their half and allow the prowess of Carmen Dinh, Elle Tsai and Helen Douglas to come to light. Although the pressure was there and a number of short corners, Sydney Uni just seemed unable to convert.

Going into the third quarter, the game began to favour Briars. With the heat bearing down and the evening before quickly catching up, everyone’s lapses in concentration and communication began to appear and Briars seized the moment and took a quick two goal lead despite the best efforts of the valiant Olivia Aitken in goal.

True to recent form however this would spur our team of heroes in the fourth period and constant attack began. In the remaining 17 minutes, with Simone Young taking control of the field with her fellow halves Alysha Prakash and Phoebe De Raeve linking passes to the ever brilliant Rowena Butland, who was now seizing every opportunity and playing a one-two game with inners Honoree Lain, Hannah Sidorko and (the playing out of her normal position) Harriet “I’m a forward” Watson. Managing to get another short corner Kate “I’m actually on the field for a short corner finally” Barrow stepped up to the plate and managed to finally send one home taking the game to a close 2-1. With only a few minutes remaining the game was almost entirely in the Briars D.

In true dramatic fashion (GoT writers take note) Sydney was awarded another short corner in the dying moments of the game. Everyone rushed up around the circle for this one last ditch effort. A swift ball from Harriet would spring out to be received by Kate Barrow who, as ever, got the shot away. However, what is a modern drama without a plot twist? Some say it was a miss hit, some people say that it’s easy to get a stick and leg mixed? Maybe it hit one and not the other? Some blame the malevolent hockey gods, sadly the game would end and the score would remain the same. The mighty would fall from grace and first place was no longer in the hands of Sydney Uni.

Any feelings of loss were quickly replaced with feelings of pride for a well-played game and sights set on the following week. Regardless of the results, 9th grade played with a tenacity that has been consistent this season. Carmen Dihn continued her massive effort of arriving on time and playing her heart out on the field and received a well-deserved MVP vote for the second game in a row. Going forward I believe this team will move mountains this season and will be ready when the rematch with Briars comes around. Also, a big thank you to Rowena, Kate and Phoebe for doubling this week.

– Princess