Geelong men break through
GEELONG has broken through for its first win of the men’s Vic League 1 hockey season with a dominant display against Frankston on Saturday.
It took a while to convert what coach Terry Moore said was 85 per cent of the play, but two goals in a minute from Jimmy Jirik (41 minutes) at a penalty corner and Adam Salanowski (42) eased the pressure and a third from Jackon Moore (62) sealed the result.
“It was a good win,’’ Moore said on Saturday night.
“We were all over them in the first half and had probably 85 per cent of the play but couldn’t capitalise on our opportunities.
“Their keeper did a pretty good job, but we kept at it and got the score on the board in the second half.’’
Moore was full of praise for young striker Jayden Schram and Jett Mitchell, who applied a lot of pressure and forced many turnovers.
Elsewhere, Jackson Moore controlled the mid- field and Mark Jackson was rock-solid in defence in an even contribution.
The men’s reserves also recorded a win, a 4-3 result despite having to field seven players backing up from the firsts. The goals came from Sean Fitzgerald, Jimmy Jirik, Mark Jackson and Sam Stoneley.
In women’s Premier League action, Geelong failed to find the back of the net in a dominant first half and went down 2-1 to visiting Yarra Valley at Stead Park.
Yarra Valley scored after three minutes, and nabbed a second in a goalmouth scramble after 52 minutes to set up the win.
Geelong added some spice to the contest when teenager Kelsey Ratcliffe grabbed a field goal with four minutes remaining, but despite dominating possession the Sharks could not convert again.
“The first half for us was really positive and we dominated the stats,” Geelong coach Shane Walters said.
“We just didn’t convert early and hurt them when we should have. We dropped away mid-second half for a period for about 15 minutes and that when they got the second goal.”
Walters was pleased with the late fightback, despite the frustration of the lapse and some scrappy play in goal.
Keeper Morgan Gould was a standout in goal for Geelong, while skipper Emma Hatton, defender Gabrille Sutton and Ratcliffe also did well.
The women’s reserves lost 5-0.