Round 12 of the 2024 East Gippsland Hockey Association season last Saturday saw Orbost travel to the WORLD facility in Bairnsdale to take on its opponents Nagle.
Across a day of exciting play where five of the six contests were settled by two goals or less, the Green and Gold’s under 14s side were the most significant winners, courtesy of their hard-fought victory over their main contenders for a finals spot.
Despite some effective clearance work from Leni Millward on the backline, it was the home under 14s side who got out to an early lead before Orbost responded with a pair of dangerous attacks of its own, one from a Keira Irvine and Jack Scott led counter, and the other from a Chloe Findley corner shot.
The visitors were then able to mount a concerted team attack that involved Geoffrey Florance keeping the ball alive on the backline before crossing it to Kayley Robinson to slot home the equaliser.
As the first half clock ticked down, Jasper Anderson made a deep run into the ‘D’ and found Robinson in the perfect position to power the go-ahead goal into the back of the cage, a lead that Mia Martin was able to maintain for the Green and Gold immediately after the restart with a pair of key tackles deep in defence.
The goal-scoring opportunities kept coming at regular intervals throughout the second term with a pair of Anderson shots finding the boots of the Nagle goalie before Orbost’s Campbell Edlington responded in kind with some sharp saves of his own.
One promising Green and Gold counterattack led to Scott firing wide, while another that was propelled by Irvine’s strong midfield work created a scrambled far post chance for Florance.
After Findley’s accurate shot from the top of the ‘D’ was saved and the rebounded ball somehow evaded all of the lunging Orbost sticks in front of goal, Nagle had a pair of late attacks of its own as it pushed for an equaliser, but an important intervention at the back by Ava Martin ended its first opportunity before a crucial kick away by goalie Edlington denied its second, securing all four competition points for the visitors in the process.
With just three rounds of the home-and-away season remaining, Orbost’s under 14s are now two games clear in fourth place of their closest rivals Nagle in fifth spot, and will therefore seek to finalise their participation in the finals by defeating Wellington this week.
Final score: Nagle 1 lt Orbost 2.
The under 10s and under 12s fixtures took place concurrently, with a strong sweep shot from Darius Mathews opening the scoring for Orbost in the younger age group.
With Savannah Lindfield always prepared to win the ball on her stick and drive forward, the visitors were ever-threatening in attack, particularly with Asha Farley displaying plenty of pace and power down the wing.
After Nagle managed to equalise, Mathews showed his versatility by ending a swift breakaway with a crucial tackle, while the strong work of Isobel Lawless in the centre ensured many opposition attacks were stopped before they could truly begin.
Lara Kenny also played a hard-tackling and hard-running game in midfield, and it was via a pair of late breaks she led that the Green and Gold had their best chances to snatch a winning goal, one on this day which unfortunately never arrived.
In the under 12s fixture, it was the home side who adjusted the better to the playing conditions which enabled it to jump out to an early two-goal lead, but once Orbost found its feet the contest tightened up and saw multiple scoring opportunities created for both sides.
Malky Morrison and Geoffrey Florance were contesting hard at every available loose ball, while Alex Kenny and Monty Redman showed plenty of endeavour up front as they tried to find a way through the Nagle backline.
Despite a trio of excellent stops by Joe Millward in the last line of defence, the hosts managed to force the ball home for its third score, but the final goal of the game was fittingly scored by the Green and Gold after an impressive piece of play when Kitty Millward dispossessed her opponent and quickly fired a precise pass into the path of Kenny, who made no mistake in driving it into the back of the cage.
Final score (U10s): Nagle 1 dw Orbost 1.
Final score (U12s): Nagle 3 d Orbost 1.
Orbost Hockey Club will next be back in action this Saturday when it travels to Bairnsdale to take on Wellington.
