DESPITE starting its game with nine players – two down from the regulation 11-a-side – Gawler’s A-grade women’s hockey team showed its class in the second half to pull away comfortable winners.
Gawler’s Jacqui Rowe said her troops weathered the storm until reinforcements arrived, fresh from playing in the B-grade.
“It was a really good effort from the girls, especially the ones backing up for their second game of the day,” she said.
“We had a great team game with a lot of good passing and smart hockey.
“Even when we were a couple players down, we never really felt like our backs are up against the wall… we never go out there thinking it will be an easy game, no matter how often we win.”
After a dominant five-goal performance from the prolific Hannah Kingsmill, Gawler prevailed 7-2 winners over Nuriootpa.
On the men’s side, Gawler/Trinity Old Scholars hung in tight in the first half, making it to the main break at 0-0, before AM United and star player Callum Munchenberg broke through.
Gawler/Trinity’s Jonah Williams said while it probably wasn’t reasonable to expect a win considering the players that were out of the side, it was disappointing to let the game slip away in the second half to lose 0-2.
“We’re missing a few key players, so we weren’t necessarily expecting to win, but we certainly felt at half time that we could hold them to a draw, or maybe sneak one in and steal it,” he said.
“But they’ve got some pretty skilful players, and they really turned on a lot of pressure in terms of attacking and defending from the front.
“They had a really solid defence, and once they scored in the third quarter they really tried to protect the lead, before opening up again and attacking aggressively in the last.”
Josh Bockmann stood out for Gawler/Trinity in the midfield, but Williams said the side will need to work on its finishing in the final third to put up significantly more scoreboard pressure going forward.