HOCKEY
MISSED opportunities cost Souths men the chance to win back-to-back Premier League Hockey titles when they were beaten 2-1 by the Lithgow Panthers on Saturday.
Both teams had their fair share of opportunities in the grand final but strong defence from both teams made it difficult to find the back of the net.
It was never going to be an easy task for Souths with Lithgow having lost just one game this year and three games in the last four years but they pushed the Panthers for the full 70 minutes and almost came away with a victory.
“It was a close game and we expected that, it just wasn’t the result we were hoping for,” Souths coach Brian Morgan said.
“We certainly did enough to win the game, we just didn’t take the opportunities when they were presented to us.”
Both sides were prepared to start the game cautiously, testing one another and getting a feel for the match.
It was Souths who had the first opportunity when they got a short corner but they were unable to take advantage of it and then Lithgow went on the attack.
Six corners in three minutes had Panthers in the box seat and Mick Millar got their opening goal when he applied the finishing touches to a set play midway through the first half.
However late in the first period Souths were beginning to find a rhythm but, as had been the case a number of times throughout the season, they didn’t make the most of their chances.
The Bathurst team missed three shots at open goal which Morgan believed could have seen his side go into the break ahead had they been on target.
Down 1-0 at half-time Morgan told his side that they needed to be the first to score in the second half and make the most of their opportunities.
“It could have been 3-1 in our favour but instead we were still 1-0 down,” Morgan said.
“We had them on the back foot at times but I said if we wanted to win the game we needed to finish. It was just one of those days where it wasn’t working for us.”
Souths were the first side to in the second half when Dan Carter found a gap in the Panthers’ defence and scored from the edge of the circle to get the game back on level terms.
It was to be short-lived as Lithgow were able to get a second goal off another short corner with Mick Millar again the one to put it in the net to make it 2-1.
It still wasn’t over though as Souths found their feet again and went on the attack but despite having plenty of chances, they still couldn’t find the back of the net.
Even with a minute to go Souths had a golden opportunity to score off a short corner but the play broke down and it was Lithgow who celebrated their fourth title in five years.
Souths captain Mick Marshall and goalkeeper Scott Gosper were inspirational for the team and led by example, Gosper making a number of crucial saves to keep his team in the game.
Despite the result Morgan said he was pleased with his team’s effort.
“The boys gave 100 per cent, but we just didn’t get the right result,” he said.
“I was very pleased with the discipline. We expected plenty of physical stuff and plenty of verbal abuse too but they were able to stay focussed and keep 11 on the park.”
LITHGOW PANTHERS 2 (Mick Millar 2) defeated SOUTHS 1 (Dan Carter goal).
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff