Werribee has to snap out of its funk or it will be relegated from the state’s second-tier Hockey Victoria men’s Vic League 1.
The Tigers have time to jump out of the relegation zone, but the clock is ticking.
Eventually, the three plodding teams above them on the ladder will slam the door shut.
The Tigers must start winning now if they want to avoid the drop zone in Ryan Tout’s first season in charge as coach.
“Every game is big now,” Tigers captain Ross Cowlishaw said.
“We realise that we’ve got to start winning games to stay up.”
Werribee endured a frustrating time in a 2-1 loss to the Gippsland Bulls at Presidents Park on Saturday.
No goals were scored by either team in open play, with the Bulls basically winning the penalty corner battle two to one.
The Tigers were content with their style of play, but a lack of cutting edge on the front line hurt them badly.
“The last four weeks are probably the best hockey that we’ve been playing all year, but we just aren’t getting the results, which is a bit frustrating,” Cowlishaw said.
Adam Hopkins was the Tigers’ player of the match for his resolute defending.
Andrew Purcell continues to work hard in attack, holding the ball up and putting teammates into scoring positions.
The only player to bulge the back of the net was Sam Huxtable, from the short corner, to take his season tally to a team-high 13.
It’s desperation time for the Tigers, who host finals-bound Melbourne University at home on Saturday.
