Two weeks would appear to be a long time in hockey. After Round 9 the Men’s Pennant A team was sitting in 2nd position and had just completed a satisfying come-from-behind victory over Waverley. Two rounds later and we are sitting 4th and hanging onto that position by a single point.
The Pennant A competition is very close this year, so the consequence of a loss is clearly noticeable. Our hard work against Waverley was quickly equalised by a 1-0 loss to Altona (at Altona) in Round 10. The team played well at times, but struggled to make the most of our chances in front of goal and it cost us. A win there would have seen us take top spot.
Round 11 provided a chance to get winning again, with a home match against bottom placed TEM. We knew not to get complacent, as TEM had previously beaten MUHC who were not far below us on the ladder. It was a wet and wintery evening at Farm Road, but our warm up and preparation were focused.
The first half started badly with an early goal to TEM and the same issues were prominent. We were turning the ball over too often and not getting in front of our opponents. Slowly, however, we seemed to gain control of the game. A good scrambling effort up forward and goal by Sam Coffey got the scores level and by half time we felt that we were in with a good chance to win it.
The second half turned out to be probably the most disappointing effort from the team all year. All of the good elements of our play from the first half disappeared, communication dropped away and the team played poorly. More turnovers resulted and TEM scored two more goals to make sure we couldn’t get back into the game. We left the ground well beaten and with the knowledge that we need to lift if we want any chance of staying in the top four this year.
So now we have a week off before a must win match against Essendon. It doesn’t matter where they are on the ladder, as this year has already proven.
