The large crowd watching the 2020 Lower South East Hockey Association Grand Finals at Blue Lake Sports Park will not forget the action they witnessed on Saturday night for a very long time.
The Division 1 men’s decider was particularly dramatic due to a scary instance of history repeating itself.
The 2020 grand final almost followed an identical script to last year’s finale with the rivals locked at one goal apiece after four quarters and 10 minutes of extra time.
Unbelievable scenes followed during the one-on-one shootout as both sides scored their opening strikes before Tigers’ goalkeeper Matthew Hinton remained calm under pressure and executed three critical saves.
Successful hits by Jaryd Burston, Lochie Nisbet and Conner Bartlett ensured Tigers claimed a fourth-straight flag.
Remarkably Tigers Division 1 men’s coach Mick Carne said he remained calm during the shootout.
“My nerves weren’t too bad because we did the same thing last year in the final and it was just up to the boys,” he said.
Before the dramatic conclusion, the game got off to a slow start with the score nil-all at half time.
West scored through Jason Steen in the third quarter and Tigers were on the back foot, but Aiden Thatcher found the equaliser in the last term.
The breakthrough brought the game to life with both sides receiving short-corner chances in regulation and extra time, but no one could score so a shootout was the only option.
After securing a fourth crown in as many years, Carne was satisfied reflecting on the season.
“It has been a pretty tight competition and we have played some good hockey when it counted, which was nice,” he said.
In the Division 1 women’s decider, West overcame a spirited Redbacks outfit to claim a fourth consecutive premiership.
Although West had dominated the majority of the season and defeated its grand final opponent to the tune of 7-0, 4-1, 3-0 and 5-0 in previous encounters, the minor premier struggled to find form.
The young Redbacks side displayed no nerves on the big stage and piled so much pressure on West it threatened to create a significant upset.
All results were possible at half time with no score on the board, but the breakthrough came from West after Tayla Wilson Smith found the back of the net in the third term.
Redbacks continued to fight hard, but could not score an equaliser before the final whistle and West held on to secure another crown.
West Division 1 women’s coach David Vine was impressed with how his team managed to score an ugly win.
“They certainly rose to the occasion like they usually do,” he said.
“Even though Redbacks were very tough opponents, it was good we could work through it and get the win.”
Gemma Ballintyne was named player of the match and Vine said she made multiple contributions around the pitch.
“She (Gemma) played a very good game and controlled the centre,” he said.
“She provided lots of talk, which really helped our team because we were very quiet in the first half and she pumped the team up.”
Vine believed the area where West won the game was in defence, which relented Redbacks’ countless attacking waves.
“Redbacks put a lot of pressure on them, but our goalie Maddie Clark did a great job keeping them out and our two defenders Sarah Mutch and Dana Jones also stepped up to hold off a very good Redbacks team.”
