A GOAL to Moss Vale’s Carla Temporali with only eight seconds left in the match sealed a 1-1 draw between heavyweight teams Mittagong and Moss Vale on Friday night.
Jemma Delamont drew first blood for the Lady Lions in the 13th minute when she latched onto a ball from Sassie Economos to opening the scoring.
The score was 1-0 at halftime before Moss Vale came out firing in the second term and attacked Mittagong’s goals with vigour.
They finally sealed the breakthrough in the dying seconds when Temporali hit the goals from close range.
Mittagong coach Yolande Isedale said her team failed to capitalise on opportunities, particularly in the first half before dropping their game after the break.
“In the second half our passing and team work wasn’t to our usual standard,” Isedale said.
“With the amount of ball we turned over I thought we did very well to hold them out for as long as we did.
“Our defence worked really hard.”
Moss Vale coach Sandra Sharpe said her team’s game plan revolved around shutting down Mittagong’s speedy strike duo of Jemma Delamont and Pip Saunders.
“With Jemma and Pip they are so fast up front,” Sharpe said.
“They are very dangerous when they get away and we did well to keep them to only one goal.”
Sharpe commended the sportsmanship of a couple of the Mittagong girls who admitted to having kicked the ball into the net despite the umpire having already awarded the goal.
Moss Vale had struggled for form over the past month and the coach gave her team two weeks “off sticks” to refresh heading into the final weeks of the competition.
Sharpe said her team came back rejuvenated and had played much better hockey than where they left off.
Bowral get out of jail
BOWRAL had one of its worst performances of the season but somehow managed to salvage a draw, according to their coach Paul Bunt.
Bunt said his team was slow around the park, lacked cohesiveness and their short corners were abysmal.
“We had 12 or so short corners and could not convert one,” he said.
“They [the short corners] were terrible - definitely something we have to work on this week.”
Bunt said Robertson’s intensity and commitment meant his team could never really get into the game.
“You can’t take anything away from Robertson, they were very good.”
Robertson’s key playmaker Brooke Handley made a stunning return from injury, scoring one goal and setting up another to put her team on track for a win.
But Bowral equalised in the final minutes to end the match at 2-2.
Kelly Corby and Claire Howe scored Bowral’s goals, while Handley and Rachel Martin picked up Robertson’s.
Robertson captain coach Jo Bisby said Handley was a welcome addition to her team but Martin picked up the player of the match award.
“I think we could have won although it was a tough game,” she said.
“If we had a full side it could have been a different story but I was still very happy with how we played.”
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