WA Over 40's - 2011 Match Reports
WA vs SA - Wednesday, September 28, 2011
It was with great anticipation that the carry over champions from Bunbury contemplated their first game of the tournament. Having just watched NSW squeak over the like 3-2 over VIC in a tough encounter let us know that the standard of teams was going to be stronger than last year.
Our first opponent was to be SA who did not put a team in the grade at Bunbury last year. Hence they were an unknown quantity. Looking over the player list it was largely a new squad compared to the SA team that finished last in Melbourne. Coach Alan Dick and Captain Craig Emslie (‘Ems’) were both cautiously optimistic at the team meeting making sure that we stuck to our game plan and put in the work required – SA was not to be taken lightly.
The game commenced with both teams evenly poised and moving the ball around comfortably searching for weakness in the opposition. It wasn’t long before our midfield of Michael Starling (‘Mikey’), Trever Beazley (‘Beaz’), Adrian Rutter (‘Horrie’) and Steve Metcalf (‘Wiki’) took control of the game ably supported by the back line of Paul Armitage (‘Armo’), Allan Colthart (‘Bundy’) and Scott Macdonald (‘Scotty’). After ten minutes we were moving the ball around with will taking advantage of the ample space provided by SA. It wasn’t long before Wayne Blazejczyk (‘Blaza’) opened proceedings with a well placed shot.
Before long we were penetrating the circle with a relentlessness ease making SA pay for loose marking. It was a good opportunity to practice some short corner variations in tournament play but to no avail. Today would prove to be all about field goals. Rookie Patrick Knott (‘Knotty’) showed that he was up to the occasion showing great composure in front of goals casually side stepping the keeper and defenders to slot one with his reverse stick. Peter Bewick (‘Bewie’) showed that he liked the space with numerous forays into the attack slipping past many a defender. Draftee Anton Brown (‘Anton’) showed his speed and powerful shot on many occasions but the keeper kept him at bay. Stewart McDonald (‘Macca’) showed the way with his illusive stick skills to post his first for Canberra. The score was 3-0 heading into the half time break.
The second half began with a blistering pace with strong efforts down both flanks stretching the opposition to their limits. Five minutes in and Blaza had made it two goals for the day and produced a clever low ‘overhead’ transfer ball to the loitering Armo who pounded the ball straight to Ems who professionally deflected it past the keeper.
The floodgates had opened with the result beyond doubt. The players took the opportunity to try out their full kit bag but unfortunately the cavalier approach meant many opportunities were fruitless. The SA goal keeper certainly had his work cut out for him and no doubt sustained quite a few bruises from the day. Rookie Mark Watton desperately looking to open his account pounded two in succession at the keeper and in frustration went for a third of his week side not hearing the call of the already primed Blaza waiting to put it away (a play now known as the ‘Watto’). It took a further 20 minutes to add the goal count with the frustration showing on rookie Knotty who couldn’t resist the opportunity to knock a ball away and get our first green card of the tournament.
The defence had an easy first game spending much of their time in setting up attacking moves and set up camp well into the opposition half. Bundy produced many of his signature overheads to great effect. Andrew Rahim (‘Andy’) only called upon once to capably fend off an opportunity from SA who never looked like scoring.
In the end it was a conformable 7-0 win with Captain Ems taking a hat-trick and the best player award.
Special thankyou goes to Cameron Fairbrother for manning the bench and providing his many words of wisdom.
Result: WA 7 – SA 0
Goal scorers: Emslie (3), Blazejczyk, Knot, Dick and Stewart McDonald.
Best player as nominated by SA: Craig Emslie
Cards: Yellow – nil. Green – Knott.
WA vs TAS - Thursday, September 29, 2011
Although TAS finished last at Bunbury we knew they were a stronger outfit than last year (when they played with no bench). Knowing many of the TAS team stalwarts we knew to expect a tough encounter with a long passing game.
Certainly the game commenced at a sharper pace than the opening game with TAS not giving us the same space that we had experienced yesterday. Both sides were playing structured hockey moving the ball well for the first 15 minutes with WA slowly grabbing the game by the scruff. Blaza took first blood dribbling into the circle looking for Ems out wide but decided to use him as a dummy and instead took the direct shot which deflected off the full back looping high over the keeper and into the net – a well practiced routine.
Scoring early against TAS took some of the pressure off and allowed the team to play with more confidence. Mikey was able to combine well with Wiki, Horrie and particularly Beaz providing him with plenty of ball. Through the mid-field combinations we were able to control much of the play but TAS did not allow us the same opportunity to set up play as we had been used to. Beaz provided a rare transfer pass to Macca but a frantic TAS deflection resulted in him taking the ball on his right cheek bone just below the eye – fortunately it was superficial and won’t stop Macca continuing in the series. Scotty showed he had his eye in when twice tested by the TAS centre half looking for the wing with a full blooded raised ball trapping both cold.
Stepping up to the plate for the first short was Bundy who placed a direct shot well past the keeper inside the right post for his first of the tournament. Not long later Coach Dick managed a moment of madness using the back of his stick to tackle and received a yellow card for his trouble. Horrie seizing the opportunity while the Coach was out of the way to scream down the field to pick up a Blaza overhead and set up the play of the day leading to another short.
We went into the second half knowing that a 2-0 lead was not enough to keep TAS out of the game. We needed to keep the momentum going and to work on our structure. However, it was evident that TAS was able to restrict our ability to transfer the play and kept us running in straight lines.
As yesterday had been about field goals today was to be about short corners. Bundy passed left to Blaza who astutely found Ems on the right, deflecting across the face to find the injector Dick for a comfortable tap in on the left. Our short corners were on fire today. Vice Captain Mikey showed his annoyance at not being the number one short corner striker and was showed the yellow after a rougher than usual tackle.
The short conversion rate continued an upward trend; a simple lay off to Blaza allowed him to slot a low flick past the baffled keeper. TAS was able to salvage some pride from the game with a late goal being a miss trap deflected between the forwards legs past an unsighted Andy in goals. Horrie put forward the claim that it scrapped the forwards inside leg on the way between them but the umpire was not interested.
Result: WA 4 – TAS 1
Goal scorers: Blazejczyk (2), Colthart and Dick.
Best player as nominated by TAS: Patrick Knott
Cards: Yellow – Dick and Starling. Green – Knott.
WA vs WAC - Friday, September 30, 2011
Coming off two good wins we went into the game with confidence. However, we were also acutely aware that WAC takes their games against us more seriously; their Grand Final if you will. WAC also had the benefit of coming off a rest day before while we were on a third game in a row – showing in the growing list of players being worked on by our physio Phil.
Right from the whistle WAC set the tone for the match with a tough brand of hockey. They marked tightly and showed us a very physical style of play. It was evident that WAC had come out to take maximum points. All across the field their greater desire to win the contested ball and to make critical interceptions was a notch ahead of us. The greater intensity WAC showed had its toll with our players consistently making basic mistakes and providing country with more possession and control than otherwise warranted.
Bit-by-bit we slowly steadied and gained control of the game. Mikey stamped his authority in the midfield and the scoring opportunities started to flow. Time after time we penetrated the circle only to be thwarted by country. Ems, Blaza and Anton threw everything they could at the country defence all to no avail with the half time score 0-0.
The half time team discussion had a more serious tone than the previous two matches. Captain Ems and Coach Dick were keen to emphasise that we needed to regroup and play our brand of hockey.
The frustration was showing with numerous cards being issued by the umpires. Despite those setbacks the team regrouped and took the match to WAC. The defence was steadied by the clean work of Armo and penetrating signature overheads of Bundy. Circle penetrations were constantly met with a wall of country defenders. Short corners were frustratingly not converted. Deflections nerve-rackingly just a bit too fine and spraying wide. Attacking moves met with solid country defensive work.
The pressure to score continued to mount. Frustrations grew with more cards being issued. Fabio from WAC being given 10 minutes for an ‘agricultural’ tackle on Armo. Fabio also taking down Macca not long after he returned with more of the same this time clouting him on the head with his stick – Macca now looking worse for wear with two head injuries in as many games. Blaza not wanting to be out of the running in the card count gathered greens on two separate occasions.
Mikey picking up on the country style was also carded for the remainder of the game (6 minutes) for an awkward tackle. Remarkably, Knotty kept out of the cards today.
Down a player and still scoreless we continued to build up the pressure. With seconds on the clock Coach Dick showed some characteristic flair to penetrate the circle with deft stick work, held off for a better position and shot past the keeper to the open goal only to be thwarted by a country player diving desperately on the line – a penalty stroke awarded to WA as the siren sounded.
A sigh of relief was felt by the team as the final chance to seal the win was given to the steady hands of Captain Ems. Ems prepared himself as he has countless times before. The whistle sounded and Ems goes for old faithful to the lower right. The keeper misjudges and dives left. Tragedy struck as Ems slipped in motion and the ball sailed wide of the goal. WAC rejoiced - the final result would stay 0-0.
Unfortunately with Mikey having picked up two yellow cards he faces an automatic suspension so we will now have to face Vic on Monday without him.
Result: WA 0 – WAC 0
Goal scorers: nil
Best player as nominated by WAC: Armitage
Cards: Yellow – Starling. Green – Blazejczyk (2) and Starling (1).
WA vs VIC - Monday, October 3, 2011
We are always up for a tough encounter with VIC – always keen to get one over on them. Especially given some WA trained players in their team. Not having Mikey in the middle setting up the plays was also expected to upset the balance of the team.
The game started at a blistering pace something that we had not yet experienced and caught us off guard. The VIC’s took it to us hammering our defensive 25 continuously for the first 10 minutes. We were unable to get much ball to Armo in the middle who replaced Mikey. VIC showed much greater determination and intensity which showed up in closing down our options, numerous intercepts and winning the contested ball. It paid off for VIC in them scoring their first goal at the ten minute mark through a lethal combination of two WA trained players Phil Barrett and Toby Lawrence combining well ending in a sliding slap shot by Toby past Andy – I guess that could be considered a WA state of origin goal?
We regrouped and slowly started to take control of the mid-field through Armo, Bewie, Wiki, Beaz and fill-in Watto who had been moved back a line to cover for the absent Mikey. The team began to form some structure and create opportunities for the forwards to show their wares. Captain Dick and Blaza combining well many times defeating the VIC defence with simple 2-1 passing. Ems was being marked out hard no matter where he went but despite that was able to create quite a few opportunities. Just as frustratingly as our previous game against WAC we were able to penetrate the attacking circle again and again but without scoring.
However, the style of the VIC game started to show itself in the creation of their second goal. An overturn by WA quickly passed a couple of times and then in a pre-planned move, almost without looking, made a long slap ball down the open middle of the field and found a traversing Lawrence who picked up the ball at the top of the circle, dragged right past Andy and slapped the ball low into the net.
2-0 down at the 15 minute mark and the task ahead was looking tough but not unachievable. We again regrouped and took control of the game. We gained three short corners in the first half all of which broke down in their execution with no goal resulting. VIC added to their tally with less than 10 minutes remaining after Andy saved shot along the base line but unfortunately kicked it straight back to the striker who was able to feed the ball past Any to a waiting VIC striker who easily knocked the goal in. Not long later Wiki was forced to make a great save on the line to keep the score 3-0 at half time.
The second half continued in a similar vein with WA controlling much of the play. By a conservative estimate we would have had 60 per cent of the possession and spent most of the time in our attacking half. VIC spent much of the efforts in looking for long balls searching for deep strikers working hard to elude the defence.
WA finally got their act together and began to transfer the ball around the back and mid-field generating some cracks in the VIC defence. After transferring the ball back and forth several times just outside the attacking 25 Wiki passed it back to Scotty who was able to find Captain Dick in space at the top right of the circle. Dick expertly trapped the ball controlled it into position and struck a sweet ball passed the keeper. The score 3-1 and WA spirits were lifted.
The same style of play continued for much of the second half with WA well in control of the play. We penetrated the circle on numerous occasions but were unable to close the gap in the score. VIC continued to look for the long ball but was unable to convert those opportunities directly. However, on a routine long corner VIC was able to find their overlapping right half, in the circle for the first time all game, who lunged his stick out for the ball and was able to deflect the ball high past Andy. 4-1 to VIC.
Although WA did not have a short corner in the second half VIC was able to add to their tally with a badly struck short corner shot which bounced slowly several times and in doing some was able to find its way past a surprised Andy and Bundy.
The game ended 5-1 to VIC.
Unfortunately, it was also an expensive day for cards with yellows to Anton, Watto and Macca. We now have four players on one yellow on the verge of suspension.
Result: WA 1 – VIC 5
Goal scorers: Dick
Best player as nominated by VIC: Dick
Cards: Yellow – Brown, Watton and Stewart McDonald. Green – Knott and Bewick.
WA vs QLD - Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Going into this game after the poor result against VIC we knew we had to find something more. Blaza was injured with a dodgy hamstring so it was his turn to coach and run the bench. Additionally Beaz tweaked one of his quadriceps in the warm up and stayed on the bench. Ems had a sore calve muscle and would only be used sparingly. We were also aware that QLD had a number of injuries so neither side would be at full strength – a situation not uncommon in the second week.
We started with the ball and after a couple of quick moves around the back Armo went for a run up the left side but a searching pass couldn’t find Mikey in the middle. QLD picked up on the error, quickly found Olympian Grant Smith playing for QLD who combined with his wing and found a way passed Andy. Ninety seconds in and we were down a goal. Not the start we had hoped for!
We started with the pass back for the second time in two minutes, this time taking some control of the game through Mikey in the middle who had returned from his forced layoff. Mikey’s return helped put our structure back in place that had been missing against VIC. He combined well with his flank halves Wiki and Scotty (moved forward from fullback to cover for Beaz). Searching passes found Coach Dick, Watto, Bewie and Knotty up front who found the QLD defence wanting but were unable to convert.
It was the 17 minute mark when Armo went for a probing run into the attacking 25. He passed towards our strikers but was intercepted by the QLD defence on the baseline who attempted a quick clearance only to find Captain Dick at the edge of the circle. Showing his usual calmness he struck the ball hard at goals and found a gap between the keeper’s pads to score. At 1-1 we had the game back on an even keel.
Unfortunately, less than three minutes later, QLD were again able to find a way through our defence and slot another goal through the clever play of Smith to again take the lead. As luck would have it, ten minutes later Bundy struck a short corner with expert precision past the keeper. The match was on at two goals apiece.
Much to our chagrin the second half started like the first. QLD were straight into attack and were awarded a short corner. Using a sequence of passes around the top of the circle they eventually found their injector 3 yards off the post. Andy was up for it and saved the first attempt but not the second as QLD again found the net less than three minutes in to the half. We were down 2-3.
Not conceding the game we set about the task of finding another equaliser. We found some good structure and spent much of the remainder of the half pressing hard against the QLD defence. It was evident the opposition were weary and largely content to hold onto their lead. At one point QLD even sent their assistant manager on to the field.
We had numerous short corner opportunities that went desperately close. Mikey made a high drag flick across the face of the goal to the top right, having deceived the keeper, to only miss the mark by inches. A short while later Bewie picked up a long pass in the middle behind their defence, made a quick run into the circle to find an unmarked Ems with the ball for a 2 on 1 against the keeper. Ems drew the keeper towards him slipped it back to Bewie who was looking at an open goal. Bewie failed to make the trap for what would have been a certain first goal for him.
Much of the last 15 minutes was spent deep in the QLD defensive 35 yards with all of the QLD players back desperately trying to hold off a late goal. With minutes left on the clock Armo went for another incisive run through the QLD defence only to be bought down by a QLD full back who he had just beaten at the open top of the circle. A short corner awarded and only a green card to QLD.
Again we had lost the game even though we had far more opportunities to score and had control of a dominant percentage of the possession. Fortunately we only had one green card to add to our tally.
Result: WA 2 – QLD 3
Goal scorers: Dick and Colthart
Best player as nominated by QLD: Starling
Cards: Green – Metcalf.
WA vs NSW - Thursday, October 6, 2011
Coming into the game off a two game losing streak and not quite getting our game plan working so far meant we really needed to pull ourselves together for the last round match. It was important to find some form leading into the finals. Given the current state of the ladder it was looking likely that we may play NSW again in the semi-final.
To add to the situation the injuries were starting to mount. Blaza with a dodgy hamstring, Coach Dick recovering from a fever, Ems with sore calves, Beaz with one of his quadriceps strained and Macca with barely anything not injured looking like he had he had come out second best in a pub brawl. However, Physio Phil had done his magic and all made it onto the field in varying degrees.
We commenced the game using the structure and style that we had intended right from the start of the tournament but had not been able to make happen on the field. Simple hockey moving the ball around, being patient and transferring until the right opportunity presented itself.
It wasn’t long before a move into attack was turned into a short corner 8 minutes in. Bundy stepped up to the plate and smashed the ball straight through the NSW defence. That was our first early goal since the easy win over SA. That early goal set the tone for the match and left the NSW game plan in tatters.
It wasn’t long before we again took control of the mid-field moving the ball easily around and finding options in attack. Several opportunities by Captain Ems, Coach Dick, Bewie and Blaza went irritatingly begging. Ten minutes later and our second short corner awarded. Bundy is again at the helm. Bundy smashes the ball unanswered past the NSW defence this time to the other side. Bundy two goals from two attempts and the team are up 2-0 at the 17 minute mark. The game plan is coming together and NSW look rattled.
Much of the first half continued in the same manner. Mikey showing some great form in the mid-field with some signature double pirouettes to penetrate the opposition mid-field. Every attempt by the NSW attack was firmly held back from a well orchestrated defence controlled by Armo and Bundy calling the shots. Wiki made some great tackles at opportune times. Bundy again utilised his overheads to put the ball past the NSW press.
The second half began as the first had finished. We took the game to the Waratahs. It wasn’t long before the ball found the injured Blaza on the right wing who patiently lined up Rookie Anton on the left post who was able to overcome his hoodoo and put his first goal for the tournament and his first for WA easily into the net. Up 3-0 and we were starting to smell victory.
NSW were not going to go away that easily though. They regrouped and found their way into attack on more than a few occasions. Finally their perseverance paid off and a solid deflection found its way into the net with 15 minutes left on the clock.
The opposition sensed an opportunity and continued to mount the pressure. A 3-1 lead was not enough against this so far undefeated team. One more goal and our win would be at risk. The team withstood the pressure despite some unfortunate lapses in concentration - you know who you are! With three minutes left on the clock Armo saw an opportunity from our defensive 25 yards and hit an uncharacteristic long ball to Watto in the middle at the attacking 25. Showing great judgement the marked Watto deceptively let the ball go straight under his stick to the lurking Bewie behind him at the top of the circle. Bewie carefully considered his options before making a low flick past the keeper left wanting.
The final result was a 4-1 win to WA. That is the first time NSW have lost a round match in over 5 years and also as a result did not finish on top of the ladder - second to QLD who went through undefeated – a couple a bonuses for the team. NSW will now meet VIC in their semi-final.
We will now meet QLD in the semi-final “1 v 4” playoff. We are quietly confident that we can turn the result around compared to our narrow loss during the round match.
Pleasingly we picked up no cards but still have four players on a yellow and some injuries to contend with.
Result: WA 4 – NSW 1
Goal scorers: Bundy (2), Anton and Bewick.
Best player as nominated by NSW: Knott.
Cards: nil.
Semi-Final WA vs QLD - Friday, October 7, 2011
We needed to find something extra to defeat QLD in the semi-final. They had finished on top of the ladder undefeated with the only blemish being a draw to NSW. But we had a hand in giving them top place by defeating NSW the day before. However, QLD had defeated us 3-2 in the round match though we had let a couple of early goals in – we were determined not to do that again.
Injuries were still a concern. Blaza with a dodgy hamstring but was ready to roll. Only Beaz and Macca were unlikely to play today. This was also to be Armo’s last appearance not being able to play in the final should we make it.
Overcoming NSW in the previous game had given us some much needed confidence which we took into this game. Right from the start we took control and played to the game plan using the structure and tactics that had been drilled into us. QLD in comparison looked a bit tired and certainly had some injuries taking their toll. The QLD fullback (‘Chook’) was not expected to play having received his second yellow the game before but apparently had successfully appealed the decision and was allowed to play (a lesson for Mikey in that regard!).
It wasn’t long before Blaza showed that he had saved his best for the finals. Showing his exceptional vision and ability to sell the dummy he linked up with Ems and Bewie in a series of deadly triangle passes which had the opposition completed mesmerised for an easy put away by Ems. Ems broke his personal drought having not scored since the first round game - just when we needed it. We had turned the tables on QLD scoring four minutes in just as they had scored early in the round match.
Not to leave it at that QLD bounced back and put considerable pressure on our defence. Olympian Smith created several chances but to no avail. One such opportunity was a clean trap off an Armo hit from no more than half a metre away but Armo recovered and prevented any result. The half time score was 1-0 to WA.
The second half continued in the same vein with both sides trying desperately to score. WA needed another goal to be sure of a win. QLD only needed to draw to go through thanks to their higher ladder position. Fatigue was starting to show on the QLD side as they began a tactic of flooding and resting in defence. We took the game to them moving the ball around the field largely unchallenged probing for an opening.
Watto was enjoying the opportunity on the big stage breaking through the defence on numerous occasions but the chances went begging. Horrie found himself in the circle with an opportunity to score but selflessly passed the ball to Watto who flicked the ball low to the open goal – a video replay shows that the QLD keeper managed to cover about 8 metres from outside the wrong post while Watto was flicking to save the shot! As Watto attests ‘he came from nowhere’.
Perhaps Horrie should have taken the shot?
QLD did not give up! Through a sequence of strong play and favourable decisions they made their way down the right wing, past the energised WA bench, and were awarded with a short corner. Six minutes on the clock! A draw was all they needed. They decided to go the flick from the top – not having a drag flicker it seemed a strange choice. However, it found a gap through Andy’s armpit and scored. The score was 1-1. We only had six minutes to score or out tournament was over!
QLD thought they had it wrapped up. They changed tactics and started trying to waste time and wind the clock down. Arky (for QLD) in typical fashion moving the ball to the attacking corner and attempting to keep it there but Bundy stole it straight back on his first attempt.
QLD flooded the defence but we controlled the ball around until we were finally awarded with a short corner. Sixty seconds on the clock. This was our last chance! Bundy lined up at the top, sold the dummy he was going to hit, passed it to Mikey on his right who casually flicked the ball from 10 metres straight past the outstretched keeper – that’s how it is done Watto! We had done it! We were up 2-1 with less than a minute to go. The QLD keeper did not help their cause kicking the ball in disgust all the way to the other end of the field for Arky to retrieve. By the time QLD recommenced the game the siren was only seconds away.
We had made it through to the final! QLD were understandably distraught and perhaps will rue trying to run the clock down. Now we had to watch the other semi-final to see if we played NSW or VIC.
Result: WA 2 – QLD 1
Goal scorers: Ems and Mikey.
Cards: Green – Wiki and Knotty (again!).
Final WA vs NSW - Saturday, October 8, 2011
This is what all the hard work had been for. To make it to the final and give it our best shot. It was to be a rematch of the last years final: WA versus NSW. We were successful last year and hoped for back-to-back wins. NSW probably having a slight advantage with an easy semi-final against VIC while we had a tough match in beating QLD in the dying minute.
Unfortunately we would be without Armo who had flown back to Perth last night to be best man at a wedding. That is a bit of blow considering he had been voted our best player of the tournament by the team. Watto who had strained his groin in the semi-final had been patched together and would play. Beaz and Macca would both be available to play though still not fully fit.
The game didn’t quite start as we would have liked. A loose pass by Coach Dick in an effort to find Mikey at the top of the defensive circle was intercepted and easily put away by the Waratahs. We were down a goal in the first four minutes!
We consoled ourselves and commenced again this time with more poise. Much of the rest of the half was a close tussle with both sides putting unrelenting pressure on the opposing defence. Although the early goal had clearly rattled the side presenting itself in the numerous basic skill errors which cost us valuable possession and additional workload in chasing NSW.
Neither side was able to find the net. That was until Ems found himself unmarked with the ball and only the keeper to beat and managed to squeeze the ball under the keeper to score the equaliser two minutes before half time. The team erupted in jubilation! We had rectified our early mistake and put the game back on a level footing.
The half time talk was intense. Only 35 minutes of play left. This is what the tournament was all about. Eliminate the basic errors – play to our game plan. It appeared to work. Everybody lifted just that bit extra and we combined better as a team than we had in the first half. Neither side had giving the other any opportunity to score.
The tipping point came when a loose follow through from a NSW stick cracked Mikey hard on the back of the head. He was down with a serious cut and had to leave the field. We were now without Armo and Mickey, two of our better play makers. We quickly slotted untried Knotty into centre half who availed himself well in trying circumstances. Mikey showing his mettle returning at inside right 15 minutes later with a turban wrap around his head. I think both sides were relieved when the siren went with the score locked at 1-1.
There was time for a quick breather before heading into the sudden death extra time – 7.5 minutes each way.
We had the pass back. Ems decided to surprise NSW and went for a run with the ball. Regrettably, his pass to left wing was intercepted and the Waratahs were straight into attack. They spent much of the next few minutes in a tight press which we had trouble getting out of. The inevitable result was a short corner. Then another until the defence had absorbed four straight short corners in golden goal time and had kept the ball out.
With less than two minutes on the clock we had not been able to get the ball into our attacking half since the pass back. NSW received a pass to the top of the circle. Under pressure their forward attempted a tight tomahawk shot, it bounced off a defensive foot high into the air. The circle was crowded. The ball was out of reach over everyone’s head. Surely the ball was going wide! Surely it was dangerous and a short corner was to be called. Andy had come out to the middle of the circle and was now under the ball which was out of his reach. The reliable Bundy was the last line of defence. The ball was heading towards the right post. Bundy had a couple of desperate stabs at the ball but to no avail. The ball was in the net and the umpire signalled a goal. NSW had won the tournament with a fluky golden goal! Emotions ran high for both sides with little to separate us.
Result: WA 1 – NSW 2.
Goal scorer: Emslie.
Cards: nil.
WA Final Position: Runner-up (2)
Although we had hoped for back-to-back titles we should be pleased with what we achieved – especially given that all that separated us from NSW was a fluky goal that given more time might have gone the other way. Next year - the tournament travels to Hobart, Tasmania for what is sure to be chilling encounter. Maybe we can go one better there.
Congratulations to Paul Armitage, chosen by his peers as our best player of the tournament.
Many thanks and congratulations to coach Alan and wife and manager Paula Dick, both selected for Australian duties in the 45’s next year, Paula as manager, in London around the Olympic Games. Congratulations also go to Craig Emslie and Michael Starling who gained selection for their outstanding form throughout the tournament.
Thanks to trainer Phil, whose skilful hands kept us on the field (including managers in ship shape) and kept us going right up to the final.
The various fines masters (Wiki, Beaz, Armo and Bundy) also warrant a particular mention (‘thankyou fines master’). That leaves Bundy as the carry over fines master for next year.
Most of all, thanks to everyone in the side for their efforts, camaraderie and for most a long time away from friends and family. To my mind it was one of the most enjoyable tournaments in recent years.
WA Player of the Tournament: Paul Armitage
Australian selection: (40’s) Craig Emslie and Michael Starling, (45’s) Alan Dick and Paula Dick (manager).