Woodridge enjoy exciting contests in George
The Woodridge first hockey teams had two excellent contests when they travelled to George to take on York at the weekend, the boys getting home 4-3 and the girls drawing 3-3.
The boys’ team put on a fine display of technical and tactical dominance in the first two chukkas to build a 4-0 lead, forcing York to chase the game.
With a formidable defence and positive attack, Woodridge looked set for victory, but York did not back down and fought hard in the final two chukkas to narrow the margin to 4-3.
Woodridge, however, kept their composure in the final few minutes and held on to their lead.
The girls’ first team game kept everyone on the edge of their seats after Woodridge took a 2-0 lead into the second half. York fought back to make it 2-2 in the final chukka before Woodridge once again went ahead with five minutes remaining.
But the home team continued to press forward and scored in the last few seconds of the game to force a 3-3 draw.
In other matches, the girls’ second team won 4-2 and the boys’ second team drew 1-1.
● The previous weekend, Woodridge had their derby day against Alexander Road.
The first team rugby match was a scrappy affair, with neither team managing to gain the upper hand.
Woodridge took the lead after a number of phases saw Jack McClure receive the ball and working hard to beat the defence for a try in the corner.
Cwenga Ncapayi then disrupted an Alex line-out and earned a turnover, getting the ball to Van Ginkel Venter, who beat two defenders to score Woodridge’s second try. Junaid Damons added the conversion to make it 12-0 at halftime.
Alex managed to score first in the second half to reduce the lead to 12-7, but Woodridge held on to that lead and then scored once more late in the game through Ncapayi from a line-out maul to make the final score 17-7.
The girls’ first hockey team dominated their game against Alex with 15 circle entries and eight penalty corners, but were rewarded with only two goals.
The Alex team started to realise that their persistence and hard work were paying off and they were able to equalise before a last-minute breakaway goal saw them take the match 3-2.
In the boys’ match, a tight first chukka promised an exciting game as Woodridge took the lead with 10 seconds left.
Woodridge’s consistency paid off as they found their rhythm, scoring five more times for a 6-1 win, with Kyle Lottering getting a hat-trick.
The netball first team started well to take a 6-6 scoreline into the second quarter where they fell one goal behind Alexander Road.
The third quarter showed the Alex team’s speed and their ability to contest in the circles to build up a four-goal lead by the end of the third quarter.
Maintaining their composure in the final quarter, Alex came away with a final win of 21-19, but Woodridge are excited for the season ahead.