Quicksticks win Adelong derby

It was an action-packed round seven of the Tumut and District Hockey competition at Tumut Hockey fields on Saturday, with inter-town teams taking on each other for bragging rights. 

In A-Grade, the all-Adelong derby saw a one-way contest, with Quicksticks coming out strong 4-1 winners over Middy Mites. 

It was the third time these teams had met this season, and with both teams boasting a win each, it was expected to be hard to separate the two teams. 

Early in the game, however, Quicksticks, with the speed of young gun BJ Wilson up front combining with Cint O’Donovan and Hayley Keenan in attack, made it difficult for the Middy Mites’ defence. 

Pip McAlister and Elise O’Sullivan never gave up and were solid keeping the Quicksticks attack out.  

The opening goal came nice cross from Carinne Maher to sister Nat Wilson, who was able to beat the defence and put the ball in the goal. 

BJ Wilson scored himself a double with some great individual skills and new young gun Abbie Uhr also netted a goal with a great shot early in the second half. 

Andrea Arragon worked tirelessly in the middle with Trish Whitburn linking up with Kerrie McDonald who was able to score for Middy Mites.  

It wasn’t enough for Middy Mites though, with Quicksticks too strong this round.

In the second A-Grade game, the Batlow Mustangs started the game strongly but went down to the Tumut Wildcats 1-0 in a hard-fought game. 

With some smart passing from Alicia McGann and Monique Fisher, who fed the ball through to Sammy Flenley and Amy Buckmaster, the Mustangs were on the attack early.

The Wildcats defence was able to repel the early attacking raid through, with rock-solid defence from Naomi Jeffery and Liana Smithson. 

Wildcats moved the ball up the field through some nice touches from Erin Tobin and Maddi Sutton. 

Raquel Streckfuss combined well with Miranda Ripper who threaded the ball past the desperate attempts of Mustangs’ keeper Susan Fielding and defender Michelle Post for Wildcats to take the lead. 

Mustangs tried to regain the upper hand with some determined runs from Andrea Glynn and Jeane van de Merwe but the defensive tactics of Tammy Mellen and Katie Jeffery were too good and Wildcats held on for the win.

B-Grade

In B-Grade action, Saturday saw another epic battle when Tumut Red came up against rivals Tumut Blue. 

Both teams were determined to keep possession of the ball and not give their rival an upper hand. 

The first half saw Red have the ball for the majority of the time up their attacking end, repeatedly putting pressure on Blues’ backline. 

Katherine Cole, Matilda Connolly and El Lions in the backs and Levi Sutton in the half position were up for the challenge, continuously shut down the attempts to find the goal. 

Hannah Matthews showed huge improvement on the wing, trapping some beautiful passes from her teammates and running the ball up her sideline. 

With the halftime whistle approaching, Liana Smithson for Red managed to show plenty of skill, dribbling the ball through the defence and crossing it to her teammate, Katie Jeffery who swept the ball in for the first goal of the match.

The second half saw Blue come back firing. 

Earnest Lotter and Tom Belt were instrumental in keeping the momentum running for Blue. 

Jeanne van Der Merwe and Monique Fisher were very strong for the Blue Team. 

Monique found the back of the net after running the ball into the circle and striking the ball with plenty of strength and determination to even the score. 

The rest of the game was too even for either team to be able to take away a win. 

Ollie Gailey, Zoe Bathgate, and Chloe Pearce all had strong games for Red, while Joey Gailey and Jess Barnard showed plenty of energy for Blues. 

A great game was had by all and it was enjoyable to watch.

In the second B-Grade game, the battle between the two Adelong teams was an even affair with both teams finding it difficult to break the defence and score a goal.  

Adelong Green had some great team plays during the match especially with the Kelly sisters Charlotte, Taylor and Paige. 

Adelong Gold defended tirelessly with great skills from Sara Hannan, Isliah Kapoor and Matilda Carmody, however, Green were able to put a goal in with a great shot from Paige Kelly. 

Young up and comers Brooklyn Foster and Rosie and Millie Marsh tried hard all game giving 110% for Gold and Hendricks Lawrence for Green team. 

In the second half Adelong Gold’s BJ Wilson used his skill and speed in the middle, trying hard to score.  

Gold’s Taylani Kapoor up the front worked well with Charlotte Hannan but the defence of Sicily Lawrence, Hugh and Culley Reynolds kept Gold scoreless. 

The experience of Taylah Wilson in the middle for Green made it difficult for Gold to score. 

Shiloh Whitburn showed great skill with numerous runs down the sideline in attack for Green combining well with Taylor and Paige Kelly who were both able to put a goal in each giving Adelong Green the win.

C-Grade

The littlest hockey players didn’t show any rust from their weekend off as they took to the field in their latest match. 

Ella Smith showed just how quickly she has picked up the skills of the game with some great touches. 

Hugo Adams had his best game of the season, showing great goal sense and finishing off some nice lead up play by Kilarnee Streckfuss and slotting a very tidy goal for his team. Ara Flett also played well, wanting to be in the middle of all the action, as did Braxton Bamblett who used his strong hitting to his team’s advantage. 

Results

A-Grade: Quicksticks 4 (BJ Wilson 2, Nation Wilson, Abbie Uhr) def Middy Mites 1 (Kerry McDonald); Wildcats 1 (Miranda Ripper) def Mustangs 0.

B-Grade: Adelong Green 3 (Paige Kelly 2, Taylor Kelly) def Adelong Gold 0; Tumut Red 1 (Katie Jeffery) drew Tumut Blue 1 (Monique Fisher).

Note: Tumut and District Hockey will have general byes for the next two weekends in the school holidays, including June 26 and July 3. Hockey will resume on Saturday July 10.

Previous articleBoost for Tumut Show
Next articlePre-fab building upgrade at Batlow Caravan Park