Gritty win with no goalkeeper
A huge overdue congratulations to our 1st XI hockey girls, who had a stunning win against Pinehurst last week.
The game began with news no coach wants to hear – that our goalie Emily was out, along with teammates Emma and Jade.
So there we were: only one sub and no goalie, up against a full strength Pinehurst.
Our captain Lotte stepped up and agreed to don the goalkeepers gear, and after a quick warmup and some instructions and we were ready.
The rain cleared in time for the start and we were off! There was not much between the teams in the early stages. There was some much-improved passing in the team, but the Pinehurst defence was solid.
Northcote came close with a few shots, but it wasn't until nearly 30 minutes in that Briana found the back of the net with one of her trademark bullet shots.
The game continued to see-saw back and forth and Northcote were finally starting to threaten more.
Excellent work on attack and defence by player of the day Sabine meant we went into the break up 1-nil.
Having not really been tested in goal, and with Lotte itching to get into the thick of things, Northcote made the brave decision to not play a goalie for the second half, with Lotte back out as Centre Half and Briana dropping back to a sweeping central defensive position.
They say fortune favours the brave but just after 10 minutes of the second half, Pinehurst drew level despite some desperate defence by Northcote.
This fired up the team and we started to make more breaks into their half and test their goalkeeper, who was initially equal to the task. Continued pressure in the D and after a flurry of blocked shots Northcote finally had the ball in the back of the net.
The final shot was a combination from both Sophie and Kezia but with most of the forwards involved in the assist, this was a great team goal to finish off a deserved 2-1 win.
Thanks to our amazing parents for their support on the sideline and to Anne-Marie Whitby for the photos.
– Craig Whitby, Coach
