Alarm bells are ringing for Werribee Tigers in the Hockey Victoria men’s Vic League 2.
The Tigers’ lack of killer instinct in the past two games has resulted in consecutive losses where they have failed to score.
Frustrated with the lack of goals, Tigers coach Andrew Purcell tried to shake up his line-up in a disappointing 2-0 loss to CV Blazers at President’s Park on Saturday, but it was to no avail and the side’s position in the top four is now under threat.
“I’m trying to think why we haven’t scored in the past two games,” he told Star Weekly.
“I’ll have a meeting with the guys at training and ask them why they think we haven’t scored in the last two games.
“Again, it wasn’t from a lack of opportunities, we’re just not capitalising on our chances.”
The Tigers wasted an otherwise strong outing by failing to make their dominance count on the scoreboard.
They had all the early play against the Blazers, only to be hit on the counter- attack twice in the game.
“It’s all about momentum and putting scoreboard pressure on, which changes the whole dynamic of the game,” Purcell said.
“We had some early opportunities to score and just didn’t capitalise on them and they got us on the counter-attack from a couple of our poor decisions.
“We’re putting in all the work, we’ve just got to see the results on the scoreboard.”
Jayden Street, one of the Tigers’ best defenders, was thrown forward to try to spark the attack.
Sam Huxtable, the side’s leading scorer with 10, was put back to the midfield, while Josh Pace, the second-top scorer with six, was behind him.
It was a calculated move by Purcell that had its pluses and minuses.
“We tried to change our structure up a bit,” he said.
“At times it worked well and at other times it probably didn’t.”
Haymish Wawatai, rock solid in defence, was the Tigers’ best player on the day.
Perhaps Sunday’s trip to Greater Dandenong Warriors is just what the doctor ordered for the Tigers to cure their goalscoring woes.
The Warriors sit second-last on the ladder with the second-most goals conceded in the competition this season.
With teams outside the top four breathing down their necks, the Tigers can’t afford a slip-up against the Warriors.
“The losses have made everything a bit tighter,” Purcell said.
“They’ve brought us closer to the pack with teams around us winning.
“It’s going to be tight for those last couple of finals spots come the end of the year.”
Meanwhile, Werribee was scoring goals for fun in the women’s Vic League 2, defeating Frankston 8-0.
Incredibly, the Tigers had eight individual scorers: Laura Baker, Chloe Pickersgill, Lisa Ross, Aimee Tout, Morgan Jolly, Catherine Munro, Emma Tivendale and Jenna Howley.
The Tigers are knocking on the door of the top four after the big win.
