NEWTOWN STAGES ANOTHER HOCKEY COMEBACK.
HOCKEY: They’re fast developing a reputation as the comeback kings of Toowoomba hockey, but it’s a trait Newtown is hoping to shake.
The Tigers once again overturned a deficit to record a 5-3 win over Past High at Clyde Park.
It came off the back of a threegoal comeback to draw with Norths the week prior, but player-coach Matt Siebuhr doesn’t want his side to continually find itself needing to play from behind.
“It was a good performance, especially after coming back from a few goals down the week before against Norths,” he said.
“We found ourselves behind and it took a while to get going, and that’s something we don’t want to make a habit of. It’s a hard way to win a game of hockey.
“Most teams have a lot more younger players than us, so we can’t afford to give them too much of a head start.”
A Jamie Ollerton double for the Hawks helped Past High take a 3-2 lead into the closing stages of the first half, before Newtown found its groove. Josh Hockey tied things up, before a surging fourth quarter saw goals to Siebuhr and Josh McPaul helped to seal the win. “Mitch Parmenter had a good game at the back, and James Lush was strong for us up front,” Siebuhr said.
The win moves Newtown into a share of second with Norths, and with all teams having played each other once, Siebuhr said an old foe remains the team to beat.
“Red Lion is still out in front, I think Norths and us are level pegging, Past High isn’t too far behind and while Rangeville is a bit off the pace at the moment, they can beat anyone on their day,” he said
“We play Red Lion in a couple of weeks’ time, and we’ve been working on our ball control and the way we move the ball up the field.”
It was the defending champions that moved to outright top of the ladder, as Red Lion downed Norths 4-1 in a battle of the two remaining unbeaten sides.
A key stretch in the second quarter saw them score three goals in the space of six minutes, including a double to Corey Guse, which made things tough for Norths to recover from.
In the A1 women, Past High completed a perfect sweep of the first round of fixtures. The Eagles were engaged in a tight tussle with Newtown in the first half, with neither side able to trouble the scorers. That changed after the break, with Holly Gilbar finishing off a penalty corner in the 44th minute, and goals to Jessica Wallace and Erin McCurley-Ault in the fourth quarter sealing the win.
Red Lion moved into outright second on the standings after comfortably accounting for Norths to the tune of 4-0. Tess Henare opened the scoring and finished with a hat-trick to continue her side’s strong start to the season.