Round 13 of the 2024 East Gippsland Hockey Association season last Saturday saw Orbost travel to the WORLD facility in Bairnsdale to take on Wellington.
There was attacking play aplenty on show throughout, with three different Green and Gold junior teams managing to salute victory after securing comprehensive wins.
In the under 10s contest that began the proceedings, Orbost’s developing teamwork really came to the fore, particularly its players’ growing ability and confidence to hold the ball on their sticks and persistently drive forward with it into attack.
In a contest that was full of end-to-end action, Harper Morgan and Sophie Scott worked hard to nullify Wellington’s attacks, while the speed of Savannah Lindfield and Asha Farley both down the wings and through the centre provided plenty of momentum when the ball was moving the other way.
After one such run and shot from Farley opened the scoring, Isobel Lawless was rewarded for her strong pressure game by doubling the lead from close range, although Wellington was able to pull a goal back before the half.
The second term saw Orbost take control and score a further three times, one coming from Farley’s stick after another impressive forward foray, and the other two from a pair of decisive drives on goal by Lara Kenny that ended with the ball being struck firmly into the back of the cage.
The under 12s match that was played concurrently on the other half of the field also ended in a 5-1 scoreline, although on this occasion it was Wellington who ran out the comfortable victors thanks to its fluid ball movement.
The Green and Gold’s youngsters showed plenty of fight, particularly Jacob Rutherford who was perfectly placed to clear multiple shots from his own goal-line, and Joe Millward who battled hard throughout in both the centre and on the wing.
Alex Kenny and Lily Crofts never gave up the fight up front and caused many nervous moments for the Wellington backline, and Kenny was heavily involved in his team’s best highlight for the game when he dispossessed his opponent in a dangerous area and quickly fed the ball to Kitty Millward, who drove past a defender and cleanly fired it into the goal.
Final score (U10s): Wellington 1 lt Orbost 5.
Final score (U12s): Wellington 5 d Orbost 1.
The last time Orbost and Wellington met each other in under 14s action the two sides produced an eight-goal thriller, but even more impressively, they somehow managed to repeat the dose on this occasion with another enthralling 4-4 draw.
After Keira Irvine had an early shot cleared off the line, Jasper Anderson put the Green and Gold one up with a well-timed smash from close range, and after Wellington responded with two quick goals of their own, Anderson was on hand again to unleash a big blast from a corner to pull his side level.
After Kayley Robinson and Ava Martin made crucial defensive tackles at the top of their own ‘D’, a dynamic run forward by Chloe Findley created a shot on goal for Irvine which was saved, only for the ball to fall perfectly for Anderson to sweep it home for his personal hat-trick.
Wellington started the second half brightly, but it could not find a way past either Sarah Gladstone or goalie Campbell Edlington when it mattered.
Another dribble by Findley and some great supporting work by Kitty Millward gave Anderson the time and space he needed to slot home Orbost’s fourth goal, but it was not long before its opponents had cut the margin back to a single score again.
Leni Millward’s timely dispossession of an attacker at the near post ended one possible chance for an equaliser, while her sister
Kitty and Irvine both had chances cleared to safety at the opposite end after a cross from Findley created chaos in front of the Wellington goalie.
After the eighth goal of the game tied things up once more, some good work from Jack Scott on the wing created a late chance for Anderson, while Edlington was successfully able to absorb some intense pressure in the Green and Gold cage, using his boots to great effect three times in a row in the closing minutes to preserve the draw and a share of the competition points for his team.
Final score: Wellington 4 dw Orbost 4.
Orbost Hockey Club will next be back in action this Saturday when it hosts Swan Reach.
Later that evening (7pm at the Orbost Community college hall) the club will hold its major fundraiser for the year, the fourth annual trivia night.
The pace and precision of Kayley Robinson played an important role for Orbost’s under 14s and under 16s against Wellington last weekend at Bairnsdale’s WORLD facility.
