Werribee laid all its cards on the table and went bust in the first week of the Hockey Victoria women’s Vic League 2 finals.
The Tigers sank to a sudden death with their 3-1 loss to WestVic at the Essendon Hockey Centre on Saturday, ending their hopes of a fairytale finish to the season.
Tigers coach Les McAlinden had grand plans for his team to go deep into the finals, only to see them shattered after a disappointing second-half showing.
“I’m gutted,” he told Star Weekly. “We really expected to go all of the way so the loss is hard to swallow. The girls were all feeling a bit emotional, but we’ve sworn we’ll come back and try to do it next year.”
The Tigers warmed to the task early with star forward Laura Baker scoring the game’s opening goal.
The Tigers had all the momentum in the first half but failed to extend their lead despite numerous chances.
“We had our chances, but it was one of those days where the ball wasn’t going in,” McAlinden said.
WestVic found an equaliser just before half-time and took control of the game thereafter.
They were clinical in front of goal, making it a tough day for Tigers goalkeeper Rachel Catania.
“They got an equaliser before half-time; it put a dampener on all the good work we’d done for 30 minutes,” McAlinden said. “One little mistake and the opposition capitalised, and then in the second half they ran all over us.”
The pick of the Tigers’ players were four youngsters, which bodes well.
Chloe Pickersgill, Gabrielle Van Dam, Emma Tivendale and Casey Tunstall were not overawed and will take this finals experience into next season.
McAlinden has already committed for 2016, as have the bulk of this year’s finals players.
He envisages a younger line-up next winter, with players looking to impress in lower- division finals in the coming weeks.
“We’ve got a few juniors coming through who are still in the finals, so we’ll go out and support the seconds and thirds,” he said.
