RED LION FIGHTS HARD FOR SPOILS
‘‘ EVEN WHEN THEY WERE DOWN, THEY SHOWED NO NEGATIVITY.
SCOTT DOWNS
Despite finding themselves down by two goals, Red Lion has lifted off the canvas to claim the men’s A1 crown. The minor premiers fought back hard from a 3-1 deficit throughout the first half, claiming an encapsulating 4-3 defeat of Newtown. “We have some older heads, but we’re a young side who play with experience beyond their years,” coach Scott Downs said. “They really believe in one another. Even when they were down, they showed no negativity on the bench. “They were confident that they could fight they way back, and they did.” It wasn’t all tough in the first half for Red Lion, with a second minute goal to Josh Bidgood giving them an early lead. Newtown fought back hard in the second quarter however, with Josh McPaul, Zac Sinton and James Lush goals in the space of 11 minutes putting them on the front foot.
Corey Guse responded just before the half-time break to keep them within the hunt.
“Corey came up with a goal off the back of some brilliant lead-up work to send us into half-time at 3-2,” Downs said.
“The boys heads weren’t down. We knew we could run them down.
“In the second half I thought we were the much better side, and we were able to build pressure.”
Bidgood’s second in the 49th minute levelled up the scores at 3-all, before he completed his hat-trick after 57 minutes to give Red Lion the lead once more.
“Josh had the game of his life,” he said.
“For those 13 minutes at the end, we had to weather the storm. Newtown really revved up, but we had some experience in the side like Craig Smith and Lachlan Brownhalls that led the side when we needed to be strong.
“With about three minutes to go, Craig was able to hold the ball down in an attacking corner and take almost two minutes to wind the clock down.”
On the back of the success, Downs said he hoped to keep as much of the core together as possible.
“Hockey is an entirely amateur sport,” he said.
“Kids go to university, get jobs and fall in love. I said before the game they might never play with this group again.
“I hope to keep hard core, and we would love to think we can keep this group together.”
RANGEVILLE HOLDS OFF RED LION TO SECURE HAT-TRICK
Rangeville’s A1 women completed their third-straight title, defeating Red Lion 2-1 in an intense decider.
“They made us work for it. Red Lion rose to the occasion,” coach Elke Swain said.
“They were unlucky. They had some chances that they could’ve put away, but we stopped them.
“Our main focus was that we played for the entire 70 minutes. There was no way that we could stop at any stage.
“We made sure that when we were on top we stuck to our game plan.”
After a battle of a first-half that saw both sides remain scoreless, a perfectly-orchestrated short corner that was finished off by Maddie Staff gave Rangeville the lead in the 38th minute.
Red Lion levelled things up soon after with Amber Suey’s 45th minute strike, before the competition’s leading goalscorer broke the deadlock.
Katie Wollstein showed a bit of individual brilliance to put her side ahead in the 49th minute, as they tried to hold out a desperate Red Lion in the final quarter.
“What impressed me was our strength on the ball,” Swain said.
“Sisters Brooke and Alex Thompson both held their position and controlled the midfield.
“Maddie and Tatum (Stewart) held the centre strong. They had good talk and great overheads, and made it easier to get the ball out of our defensive end.”
Swain praised the efforts of the young Red Lion squad, also paying tribute to her own side’s rising talents.
“Red Lion have some young players coming through their ranks and they are going to be very tough over the next few years,” she said.
“Our youngest player this year was 14-year-old Tannah Hood and she certainly didn’t look out of place.
“What we like to start doing is getting these young players used to playing senior hockey, and we can rely on them when the seniors are away.
“This one was good to win. Even though we’ve been top of the ladder for the season, every game we’ve had to work for, and to be able to do that on a weekly basis has been great for the team.”