It was the one that got away for Werribee, and how costly the Tigers’ 3-2 loss to WestVic ultimately proves in Hockey Victoria women’s Vic League 2 will unfold in the coming weeks.
The short-term repercussions are frustrating, as the Tigers tumbled out of the top four and missed out on a chance to claim a big scalp.
“We were two goals up and then we went to sleep,” Tigers coach Les McAlinden told Star Weekly.
This game was a microcosm of Werribee’s first 13 rounds of the season.
They produced 25 first-half minutes of the most breathtaking hockey but went into their shell after WestVic scored before half-time and failed to regain their spark after the break.
At their best, the Tigers can compete with the top teams in the competition, but that has been all too fleeting this season.
“When we’re firing we’re unstoppable,” McAlinden said. “Our movement of the ball is just beautiful. We did it for 25 minutes, but
we have to channel that into 70 minutes of hockey. It’s just concentration. But we switch off and teams just seem to want it more than we do.”
After goals to Lynda Tivendale and Laura Baker, the Tigers took their foot off the accelerator, allowing WestVic to halve the deficit ahead of the break.
McAlinden could see heads drop in his camp and errors start to creep in, even though his side still had the lead.
Part of it was due to WestVic’s press, which forced turnovers, but the Tigers’ sloppiness was also a factor.
Either way, WestVic made them pay, scoring twice in the second half for a stunning come-from-behind victory.
“When we were 2-0 up, we might have thought it was easy,” McAlinden said. “Little mistakes started creeping in, and once they start it’s hard to get them out of your game.”
Gabrielle van Dam, Chloe Pickersgill and Baker were the stand-outs for the Tigers.
Van Dam was the pick of the bunch in her first game back after playing volleyball overseas.
“She’s a talented kid,” McAlinden said. “Who knows where her talents could lead?”
While the Tigers are licking their wounds after dropping out of the four, they will be aided by a soft draw in the run home.
“We still have to play the bottom four teams ,” McAlinden said, ahead of Saturday’s must-win clash with bottom side Frankston.
In men’s Vic League 2, Werribee had no answer to WestVic or the competition’s leading goalscorer, Ewan Wallin. WestVic won 4-0 with Wallin bagging all four.
