Deflection puts paid to Blaze
BRISBANE Blaze have suffered their second loss of the women’s Hockey One League season after going down 1-nil to Melbourne.
Following a penalty shootout loss to Canberra Chill in the opening round of the inaugural season, the Blaze side, featuring Townsville goalkeeper Hannah Astbury, met a solid Melbourne outfit.
In a tight contest, Melbourne was able to keep its perfect record intact courtesy of a 23rd minute strike from the stick of Laura Desmet, who deflected a penalty corner into the back of the Blaze’s net.
In other matches, the Adelaide Fire and Chill also scored second wins from as many matches, courtesy of 4-nil and 2-nil wins over the Tassie Tigers and NSW Pride respectively.
In the men’s draw, Brisbane fared better, surging home from a 2-all scoreline to take the points over Melbourne.
Firing in the second half, Boyde Scott and Jared Taylor ensured the Blaze took the points back to Brisbane, sewing the match up 4-2.
In a round featuring 19 goals across men’s matches, NSW Pride bagged six second half goals to down Canberra Chill 7-nil while Hobart slotted five goals to down the Adelaide Fire 5-1.
Round three fixtures see NSW Pride at home to Tassie Tigers and Perth Thundersticks against Canberra Chill on Saturday, followed by Adelaide hosting their first matches when they welcome the Blaze on Sunday.