Finals Frenzy for Shoppers

Come rain, hail or shine (it’s Melbourne so we got all of them!), last weekend was one to remember for the Shoppers of 2024! With four teams competing in Grand Finals, our loyal supporters had much to shout about and congratulations to all our players who gave it their all across the weekend. 

It was our new President Alana Butler’s dream and request to win one Premiership this year - after this weekend, she’s thrilled to have three!

Super Saturday

Women’s Vic League Reserves

Saturday saw three opportunities for MUHC players to get out and support their clubmates.

The action started early at SSC – Parkville with our Women’s Vic League 1 Reserves team taking on TEM. Having already secured a Minor Premiership – with an unbeaten season and a whopping 113 goals scored (and only 4 conceded giving them a goal difference of 109 – the best record in VIC!) – our girls started strongly, engaging an aggressive high press that rattled the TEM side early on.

The pressure paid off as one of MUHC’s super strikers, Lily Fulford, found the net early in the second quarter much to the delight of the gathered supporters. The Shoppers cheer squad had barely got their breath back when Clarissa Beukes (whose Strava stats must have looked like she was training for the Olympics) pounced on a breaking ball to knock in goal number two.

TEM, whose attacking attempts had been well snuffed out by a dominant MUHC midfield and defence, managed to nab one back to leave the score at 2-1 at half time.

The third quarter started with a more even spread of play and MUHC’s defence getting a bit more of a workout. Despite TEM’s increased pressure, MUHC struck first from a short corner when Annabelle Hargreaves’ shot from the top was deflected in by Katie (not to be mistaken for k.d.) Lang, giving the Shoppers in the stand plenty to shout about.

MUHC continued to press in attack but, with time ticking down in the quarter, TEM went hunting for goals and were awarded a stroke when Prue Grant lost her footing and took the opposition attacker down with her. While a stroke seemed inevitable, the ten-minute yellow that was also awarded seemed like the kind of overkill one should only apply to a really, really big spider.

The striker went low stick side and goalkeeper Hayley Smith, who had made some solid saves including a great one-on-one, was very unlucky, having gone the right way and getting her stick on the ball.

The fourth quarter was a slightly edgier affair as MUHC were forced into more defensive positions while down to 10 players. That said, TEM did not make hay with their numerical advantage and, apart from winning a few short corners, failed to find the equaliser.

With a minute on the clock, Keeley O’Reilly made a gut-busting 80m sprint to the attacking line where, on receiving the ball, she proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it – almost as if she were trying to waste time.

The final score was 3-2, and it was all smiles from co-captains Kat Dal Santo and Keeley as they accepted the flag on behalf of their unbeaten team for 2024.

Congrats to coaches Cooper Price (who coached remotely from Europe for the Finals Series!) and Em Rosse, and all of the players involved in this highly successful year.

The next battle of the day involved getting out of the SSC carpark, fighting with netball traffic, in order to get on the road to Footscray where a Pennant D double-feature awaited.

Women’s Pennant D - North West

Our Women’s Pen D team was first up with a repeat of their Week 1 final clash against Essendon. Having already secured the Minor Premiership, the team was keen to add a flag to the growing list of accolades.

In a game that was interspersed with rain, sunshine, sideways rain, more sunshine, and whatever else Melbourne could think of throwing out, MUHC started strongly, no doubt invigorated by their tremendous Preliminary Final the previous week.

The whole game was a tight encounter with both sides’ defences called into action. On balance, MUHC had the better chances but unfortunately failed to convert.

At half time, the scoreline remained at 0-0.

In the second half, MUHC began to really turn the screw and put massive pressure on the Essendon defence. Indeed, the team would count itself fiercely unlucky not to have had a stroke at one point as the Essendon goalkeeper made a clear-as-day backstick save during a short corner shemozzle which went unnoticed.

With nine minutes to go, the Shoppers finally broke the deadline when Penny Williamson found the net from a well worked penalty corner.

The broken deadlock, however, seemed to enliven Essendon who responded less than five minutes later when a scrappy ball into the circle trickled over the line.

With shootouts looming, both teams went in search of the winner with less than five minutes on the clock. Unfortunately, another scrappy ball into the MUHC circle not only found the net but also saw our Irish rover Rebecca Reynolds taking a nasty knock and having to be carried from the field. Tá suil agam go mbeidh biseach go luadh ort! (Get well soon!).

The Shoppers women never gave up however and fought hard, continuing to hunt for an equaliser. Unfortunately, the clock caught them in the end.

While it was a disappointing end to the season, this team and coach Lindsay Allen (who stepped in as coach/drill sergeant when injury halted her own playing season) can hold their heads high and march on into a higher grade next season. Their Minor Premiership success means that MUHC will field teams in Pennant A, B and C grades next year.

The Men’s Pennant D team was probably delighted not to be playing in the next slot as the mother of all hail showers unleashed about 20 minutes after the end of the women’s game. The supporters too were delighted to have found a warm, dry hostelry in which to ride out the latest episode of schizophrenic Melbourne weather.

Shout out to another great AVC venue in Footscray, The Station Hotel, who looked after a ragtag group of 20+ hockey players with about 17 seconds of notice!

Men’s Pennant D - North West

Back to Footscray – the Men’s Pennant D Final was a repeat of the 2023 clash against Altona which MUHC won in very different weather conditions…

Having already won the Minor Premiership, with an unbeaten league run (but not the club goal record for the year!), MUHC started brightly and in the early moments of the first quarter had already found the net when a Stu Moore tomahawk was saved by the goalkeeper but fell into the path of Rob Hale who made no mistake in burying it home.

The nets remained unrattled for the rest of the first half although MUHC had the better chances to add another one to the scoreboard. The extra hydration from the rain was working wonders…

The second half continued in the same vein – while Altona made some sweeping runs, through collectively younger legs, the MUHC defence marshalled them well and they rarely threatened James Gilchrist’s goal.

The third quarter started in dramatic fashion as MUHC were briefly up to 12 players (or at least 11.5) as one of the player’s kids decided the shortest way to the dugout was right across the halfway line! It should almost certainly have been a green card but nobody claimed the kid until after the game!

Ironically, MUHC did go down to ten men soon after when James McCaw picked up a yellow card for hitting the ball away after the whistle for an Altona free.

Later in the third quarter, Hale decided that the ‘1’ on the scoreboard was getting lonely and went on a driving run from midfield. Jinking the ball past a number of Altona defenders, he laid off to Dan O’Connor who ran the end line before slicing a peach of a pass back to Hale on the P-spot for the simple tap in.

It was beginning to look a lot like two-in-a-row and the icing on the cake came when, early in the fourth quarter, MUHC made it 3-0 with a goal that had at least one Shopper (who shall remain nameless!) declaring that they would name their first-born child after the scorer!

Running the right wing, Stu Moore drilled a long diagonal ball toward the back post where Taj Darvall, having lost his marker, made the run in to land a spectacular deflection into the roof of the net, sparking wild celebration amongst the gathered MUHC supporters.

As the clock counted down, the experience of the MUHC ‘Old Boys’ shone through as the ball was passed up the wing to Paul Boltwood (Boltie) who, once in possession, was harder to rob than Fort Knox. However, his proficiency on the ball wasn’t enough to save him from a yellow card for a “spirited discussion with his Altona marker” which, dished out with just 30 seconds on the clock, didn’t do much to damage the final score. 

The game finished at 3-0 with captain DanO delighted to accept the flag as the cherry on top of another hugely successful year for this stalwart group of players.

A Sunday Goal Fest!

Women’s Vic League 1

Finally, on Sunday, it was the turn of our Women’s Vic League 1 team who, having seen off Geelong in last week’s semi-final, were taking on MCC who had beaten table-toppers TEM in the other semi-final.

As had been the case the previous day, the Shoppers supporters were plentiful in the stand, although a few rolled in looking a little bit shook from their Saturday night celebrations – Freddie Mercury has not been reincarnated in any of the MUHC VL1R women!

Like their Ressies clubmates the day before, MUHC got off to a dream start and, within six minutes, were 1-0 up after Agu Venegas switched on her F1 engine to make a scorching run up the right wing. She drilled a perfect diagonal ball across the goal where Amy Grassom ran on for a diving deflection into the top corner.

MUHC’s second goal came just five minutes later when the MCC defender was blown for a deliberate breakdown tackle inside the D. Although off the pitch at the time, Faith Freeman stepped up, with ice in her veins, to nail the stroke into the roof of the net.

This second goal seemed to be the strike that settled MCC into the game and it suddenly took off as a contest with helter-skelter action from one end of the field to the other. MCC pulled one back just before half time when, amidst some confusion in the D, they pounced to tap a bobbling ball over the line.

As the second quarter resumed, MUHC continued their strong attacking play and were rewarded when an MCC defender tried to turn Charlotte Giesbers into a human cannonball, giving the umpire no option but to award stroke number two. Once again, Faith stepped up and, despite the goalkeeper staying up and getting a brief touch on it, fired her second goal into the same spot.

Four goals in 20 minutes, the spectators were certainly getting an exhibition!

Just two minutes later, MCC once again pulled one back, bringing the scoreline to 3-2. A mis-trap from a short corner shot gave the attacker a simple tap-in under the diving Hanneke Raaijmakers in goal.  

MCC started the third quarter with dogged intent and nabbed an equaliser five minutes in when, off a short corner breakdown, a slightly raised diagonal ball found an unmarked MCC player on the back post for a simple deflection. With the scoreline now level, we were in for a hell of a finish to this action-packed encounter.

The Shoppers reclaimed the lead just before three-quarter time when a wayward clearance fell in front of the sniper that is Elise Facer-Childs and she buried it in the bottom left corner with such ferocity that the backboard probably needs a fresh coat of paint and some therapy.

MCC went on the hunt for an equaliser in the fourth quarter, drawing a great glove save from Hanne with an early play, and the Shoppers in the stand were starting to think “it’s our day”. You wouldn’t have expected, with four minutes on the clock that there was still a few more episodes of drama to play out!

MCC grabbed another equaliser late in the fourth quarter with a great through-ball into the circle and a pass to the back post for a tap-in. With three-and-a-half minutes on the clock, it was surely heading for a shootout. Wasn’t it?

But no, there was one last twist in the tale as, with just over a minute left on the clock, MUHC was awarded a short corner. In the most dramatic finish imaginable, co-captains Charlotte and Elise combined to play a nifty one-two which resulted in Charlotte flicking the ball past the goalkeeper to give MUHC the lead, and the win, and sending the Shoppers supporters into dreamland.

The game finished 5-4 which, incidentally, was the same scoreline as MUHC’s equally dramatic home game against MCC earlier in the year.

Co-Captains Charlotte and Elise were ecstatic in accepting the cup and flag, topping off a great year for the team and the club. Congratulations to coach Trudy Hairs, and all of the players who were involved in this wonderful year of hockey.

Congrats also to our Women’s Pen E, Men’s Vic League 1, Men’s Vic League Reserves, Men’s Masters 45+ and Women’s Masters 35+ who also made it the Finals series of their respective competitions this year.

What a great year of Finals representation for the Shoppers!