SHORT corner variations were a priority for Werribee at training last week.
Good thing, too, because the Tigers reaped the rewards from set pieces in a 2-2 draw with Melbourne University in the Hockey Victoria men’s Vic League 1 at Tin Alley on Saturday.
Both the Tigers’ goals came from perfectly executed short corners.
“When we have a short corner, we look at how they set up and we’ve got our set plays to suit,” Tigers captain Ross Cowlishaw told the Weekly. “It was actually one we were working on for a good hour at training last week. Our short corners paid off.”
The Tigers were on the back foot due to University’s efficiency in front of goal.
The hosts made the most of rare opportunities to take an early two- goal lead with both goals coming off the stick of Matt Harris.
The Tigers got back into the contest when Cowlishaw continued his sparkling form with the first of the goals from short corners and the tourists went into the half-time break on a high.
“They only had a few shots, so it’s not like they were all over us,” Cowlishaw said. “We don’t really panic. There was a lot of positive talk and we just tried to get everyone up on their toes. When we pegged a goal back, it sparked everyone up.”
The Tigers dominated the second half.
They had a goal disallowed before Josh Pace gave them a deserved share of the points with a goal seven minutes from the end. It was Pace’s fifth goal of the season.
Sam Huxtable was one of the best for the Tigers in midfield. Daniel Collins and Andrew Purcell bounced back after the concession of two early goals to figure prominently in defence.
The draw was the Tigers’ fourth in seven games. It’s a matter of the glass being half full for the Tigers, who are expected to get better in the new division as the season wears on. They will be hot favourites when they host RMIT at home on Saturday.
