By RICHARD PHILIP
A NEVER-SAY-DIE attitude has seen the young Kingscliff side go down 4-2 to their more-fancied opponents Northern Star in the J.H. Williams Men’s Hockey League grand final at Lismore on Saturday afternoon.
Lismore’s Northern Star proved just too fast for Kingscliff in the final of the inter-region competition getting to a flyer in the final thanks to the efforts of mid-fielder Matt Harmon who proved hard for the visitors to handle.
Kingscliff held strong as both team traded blows to try and score but it was Star that had the first points on the board from a short corner in the 20th minute before scoring again just five minutes later from another short corner.
Kingscliff had their chances with a deflection shot by Henry Prichard that seemly went in but somehow found the keeper – who clearly had not even seen it coming.
Five minutes later, another Kingscliff shot found the post as both teams tried desperately to take command of the game.
But it was not to be for the visitors with Stars’ short corner man Thomas Vann producing a perfect drag-lick shot that was too good for Kingscliff keeper Sam Laskowski. The shot saw Star go into the break with a 3-0 lead.
Kingscliff never panicked with Corey Gleeve being put on Matt Harmon to mark him out of the game with the rest of the team going on the attack to try and get back into the match.
It was a moved that seemed to work with Kingscliff gaining the momentum, however just as they seemed to be turning the tide Star came in with another short-corner goal.
But to their credit the Coasters continued to attack and this pressure started to show with a goal to Henry Prichard and minutes later another to Andrew Ridgway but Star’s defence stood solid and held on to win.
In the Women’s J.H. Williams Hockey League, played in two divisions at Murwillumbah on Saturday, Waratahs defeated Casuarina in an all-Tweed Division 1 final.
it was a dominant display by the Burringbar-based Waratahs who took the title 2-0 over their arch-rivals. The first goal was scored by Emily Hethrington in the first half with the second goal scored by the newly returned Ebony Young.
It was a great game with Waratahs stand-out player being Tara Rochester.
Waratah Falcons gave Casuarina little to no chances to make a comeback as they controlled the ball and the game and stuck to their game plan to play tight and shut down the Coast team’s overhead balls.
In Division 2, Lismore sides East Lismore and Northern Star played an exciting game with East taking the title 2-1.
A very big thank you must go to Bruce Williams from the J.H. Williams group for continued support of local hockey.
