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 Goal blitz carries boys to Country Week title 

Goal blitz carries boys to Country Week title

30 Jun, 2009 05:00 AM
WARRNAMBOOL District Hockey Association's under 17 boys side completed a perfect weekend to claim the division two state title.

Not only did the team go through the Victorian Country Week Hockey Championships undefeated, it didn't concede a goal.

"We scored 44 goals to none," said boys head coach Mark O'Sullivan, who admitted the Warrnambool team didn't breeze through the division two competition.

The final against Sunraysia was hard-fought.

"We beat them 5-0 in the first match because I think they thought they would walk all over us because they had annihilated the teams they played before us," O'Sullivan said.

"When we got a goal 15 seconds into the game, it took the wind out of their sails."

Sunraysia approached the final with a different attitude.

The match was a tussle, with Warrnambool, coached by Jason Kermond, scoring the first goal 15 minutes into the opening half.

It slotted through another one minutes later and then held on for a 2-0 win.

It was the first time in at least five years the association had claimed a junior boys title.

"It just makes the boys realise that they can compete against the bigger associations," O'Sullivan said. "It gives them confidence."

He attributed the team's stellar weekend to most of the boys having played school hockey together at Warrnambool College, with Hamilton goalkeeper Aaron Kennett the only exception.

The victory put the side in contention for promotion into division one next year, which O'Sullivan believed would happen.

The under 15 boys also progressed to the division two final but went down to a polished Wimmera outfit 4-1.

"They were disappointed they lost the final but (the association) was really blown away with how they played," O'Sullivan said. "They only had two players who had played at a higher level before."

The under 13 boys finished third after winning four matches and dropping two.

Girls head coach Lyn Lanman was impressed with the under 17 and under 15 sides which contested division one. "I was dubious before I went because we had never played at that level and it's quite a large step up but they adjusted very well," she said.

The under 17s finished third after one loss, one draw and three wins while the under 15s advanced to the final but went down to powerhouse Albury-Wodonga 3-0.

"Albury have a lot of depth," said Lanman, who explained the girls would stay in division one as long as the association continued to develop its younger players.

"I was staggered with how we went . . . but we've got a lot of improvement to put in place."

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WDHA's under 17 boys hockey side celebrate the division two title.
WDHA's under 17 boys hockey side celebrate the division two title.

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