It was "Ladies Day" in Mittagong on Saturday with the women winning all three grades in the Southern Highlands Hockey Association grand finals.
Third Grade
The Lady Cheetahs all bounced out of bed bright and early on Saturday morning for their clash with Moss Vale. It didn't take long for Shelley and Glenda to make an impact on the game. Trudy scored early in the first half after some well constructed play down the right hand side of the field. Karen and Leah dominated the defence and really only allowed Moss Vale a couple of chances. Courtney made the save of the year in the net, only to have a penalty stroke awarded which could have evened up the match, however it was to be Lady Cheetahs day with most of the opportunities in our favour. Final score 1-0 to give the ladies their fourth premiership in as many years.
Second Grade
The Lady Tigers also played Moss Vale in a match that was destined to go to the wire. These teams are very evenly matched with both having dominant centre halves and strong forwards. Sharyn Handley put Tigers on the right track early making some brilliant tackles while every one else was travelling on nerves. Colleen and Nici were on a mission up front having numerous shots at goal only to be denied by solid defence. It took till extra time for Kim Delaney to seal the match with a penalty stroke, which had everyone on the edge of their seats. Kim showed nerves of steel and capped off a great year for the Lady Tigers.
First Grade
The Lady Lions played Moss Vale in a match that also went to extra time. Most of the attack went Lions way early in the match, however some great goal keeping kept Lions at bay. In the second half both teams had opportunities, scoring one each. Moss Vale had a chance to take the game in extra time. However Sally Peterson guarded the cage well. A few positional changes saw the Lions roar with Sharon Worner dominating the final stages, and proving to be the difference between the two teams. Young Sarah Portors played with more maturity than her years to score two of the best goals of the season.
Other highlights were Shelly Doust Third Grade, Nici Todd Second Grade and Sharon Worner First Grade winning the Association Best and Fairest Players Award.
In the men's, the Tigers played Bundanoon in what was always going to be a tight battle. The crowd were constantly shifting between this game and the second grade women. But once the crowd settled down and all eyes were on the Tigers that's when they started to fire. After Bundanoon scored in the first half Tigers were able to hold the ball for most of the game. With time quickly running out Matt Stokes pulled off a screamer of a back stick to level the scores but with only minutes left it looked like it was going down to extra time. But only seconds later Dean Ecco put on his quickest run ever to beat the bundy back and eventually the goalie to give Tigers their second straight title, well done boys.
It all came down to the Lions to give the club nine out of 10 premierships in their game against Bowral. After a nail bitter of a major semi this was always going to be a close affair. Lions drew first blood through Reggie Elliott but not long after half time Bowral ere able to draw even and not long later take the lead 2-1. Mittagong didn't give up for a second and were able to draw even and send the game into extra time. But in a few seconds it was all over Bowral scored off a short corner to end the game and the Lions campaign for their first win in three years. The hardest part of the boys was that they were by far the best team during the year but unfortunately it comes down to one day. Well done on a terrific season and hopefully it will come off next year.
Congratulations to Graham Isedale First Grade B &F and Jamie Worner Second Grade B & F.
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to get the teams to the semis. Thank you to the Junior and Senior committees, the umpires, coaches, sponsors, parents and players. The work of previous committees and the continual promotion and flow of Juniors through the grades has paved the way for the Mittagong Club, and to win the Club Championship Award is the combination of everyones work. Congratulations.
Bonfire night tomorrow at Worners (Philtam Park, Wombeyan Caves Rd, High Range). Kicks off at 5:30pm, BYO meat, drinks and a salad or dessert.
Presentation is on October 6 at the RSL starting at 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased at Mittagong fruit market or contact Claire on 4871 2604.
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