Dominant Sharks leave it late to wrap up berth in grand final
A LATE penalty corner earned with just 13 seconds of the preliminary final remaining lifted Geelong into next week’s Vic League 1 women’s grand final.
It gave the Sharks a 2-1 win over Powerhouse/St Kilda — avoiding extra time — and set up a date with Mornington Peninsula in next Sunday’s
— B. O’Kane 14, K. Schippers 9, M. O’Kane 4. — K. Martin 32, K. Vickers 6, J. Crow 5.
— R. Harwood, K. Guilmartin, K. Schippers. — L. McClelland, K. Martin, M. Pedretti. grand final at the State Hockey Centre.
Geelong coach Shane Walters was delighted with the performance in a match his side dominated despite the tight scoreline.
Emmaline Moore gave Geelong an early lead with a penalty corner conversion in the 17th minute but it couldn’t find another with Powerhouse/St Kilda turning the match on its head when it levelled in the 64th minute.
Having narrowly missed several chances to draw a penalty in the final minutes, Sharks captain Courtney Pearson made sure of things when they did draw the late chance, smashing the ball off the keeper into the top of the net.
“We dominated all day but it was just some of our decision making upfront (which let us down). We blasted away a bit,’’ Walters said.
“I’d say we won every position and we were well on top in entries into the forward 23 and we double them in the stats.
“We had a lot of balls that went across goal and we won quite a few corners, which they defended well.’’
Walters said his players didn’t panic when Powerhouse scored and remained calm.
Better players included Moore upfront, midfielders Eliza Flanagan and Emma Hatton and defender Tatiana Rouch, who provided plenty of overlap and run.
Geelong, which topped the ladder in the regular season, will be keen to avenge its shock loss to Mornington last week.
The final will be played at 2pm, with the Geelong re- serves also in a grand final at 10.15am, against either Powerhouse/St Kilda or Casey.
All local Geelong hockey grand finals will be played next Saturday at Stead Park, with juniors from 8.15am.
The showcase games see Torquay and Newtown in the Division 1 men’s final (5.30pm) and Geelong Jaguars and Torquay in Division 1 women’s final (2pm).