BATHURST City, thanks largely to gun keeper Maddie Tattersall, has come from behind to end the 2016 women’s Premier League Hockey campaign of Orange Ex-Services, in heart-breaking fashion.
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In arguably the game of the season at Orange’s Hockey Centre, Series shot out to a 1-0 minor semi-final lead after Madie Smith banged home her side’s opening penalty corner chance.
Kelly Baker leveled the scores at the 18-minute mark though, her penalty stroke finding its mark despite a touch off the right mitt of Servies keeper Jess Cullen.
Nine minutes later City then assumed the lead, Brooke McFadden finishing off a neat penalty corner chance for the visitors to give them a 2-1 lead, an advantage they maintained at the break.
Throughout the second half, Ex-Services threw everything they had at their Bathurst rivals in an effort to remain alive in 2016.
Their best shot to do that came in the 45th minute.
Earning a penalty stroke of their own, blue and gold gun Madie Smith stepped up to take the shot, only for Tattersall to save the shot from the spot with a stunning effort to her right.
The final 25 minutes after that point was Ex-Services’ attacking and City defending, with the hosts enjoying five penalty corners in that period.
They just couldn’t convert, with a deflection off the stick of skipper Chloe Barrett deflecting off the post, away from goal, late in the contest.
“To finish third, and then to lose, it sucks,” Barrett said.
“You like to think you can go one step further and try and get to the final … we’ll stick together though. I love Servies.”
City skipper Casey Bayliss lauded the defensive effort of her side in the final half of the minor semi-final.
“We went into this knowing we had to give it all we had and I think in that last five, 10 minutes you could see we were all sucking in the big ones trying to make it through to the end and hold them off,” Bayliss said.
“They had a lot of chances there and in some cases we were lucky.
“Maddie Tattersall in goals for us had an absolute blinder, she saved that stroke and it made our team lift.”
It’s the second straight season City has ended the PLH campaign of Servies, with last year’s penalty shoot-out defeat still fresh in both sides’ minds.
“I can’t fault the girls,” Barrett added.
“We kept going as hard as we could. We felt good, we felt confident, and then they came away with that stroke and we started to panic.
“It’s hard playing catch-up after that.”
Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
