Our third grade teams getting cheerful before their big Sutho v Sutho battle
Sutho’s women and girls could not have ordered a more perfect day for the annual Ladies Day on Sunday with a clear, crisp morning for hockey. The only problem was that we knew before the day began that Sutho would not finish the day with a clean sheet of wins.
But that’s what you get when you have Sutho v Sutho in third grade. As fearlessly predicted, happily Sutho won, as did our club and all its women players on our third annual Sutho Ladies Day.
A special highlight was celebrating our women who have come back to hockey after having their children. It was great seeing the littlies – some already in Sutho uniforms – running on to the field with their Mums, or in the case of one youngster who hasn’t yet mastered the walking caper, getting a lift with his Mum.
A highlight of Ladies Day was the high level of respect and friendship shown on and off the field between our teams and the visiting Bosco teams who we played in first and second grade.
And then there was the catering in the clubhouse! Absolutely no-one went hungry, with a massive array of goodies that had the tables set up in the centre of the room groaning with tempting eats. And there was still plenty left over when the hockey/party finished. Thank goodness for takeaway containers.
A couple of particular thank yous: Sarah Dredge, our women’s first grade coach was at the clubhouse for much of Saturday afternoon doing the decorations and set up for Sunday’s celebrations – and was one of the last to leave after the event. On the big day, our women’s convenor, Lee-Anne Callinan, was spotted leaving at 9 a.m at get more groceries. She was still there at close to 6 p.m. And there were plenty of helpers.
Special thanks
Now to the day’s results, in what is certainly our club’s biggest-ever weekly match report. Special thanks to Tony O’Leary, Matt Morris and Peter Barnard for their fantastic contributions of pictures. Not forgetting, of course, our coaches and managers who make the effort each week to keep the club informed how their teams are progressing.
Women
1st grade Sutho 10 Bosco 0
What a way to celebrate Ladies Day! All the girls put in an awesome effort to come away with a 10 -0 against Bosco.
The team started off great in the first half, coming off with a 3-0 margin. But we went out in the second half wanting a better half than our last game against Bosco.
With Hannah basically marked out of the game, the mids and backs were pushing up filling the gaps and dominating the centre.
Bronte did some amazing through balls, Anna M making an awesome effort saving a goal right on the line – and it’s going to be sad to see her go, but she went out with a bang!
We definitely came to gather as a team today with scoring shared across the whole team. Everyone had a blinder!
There’s even more pictures of the Sutho v Bosco first grade game, and a couple of second grade, courtesy of Peter Barnard.
2nd grade Sutherland 2 Bosco 1
Today’s game had something special about it, our the team was very excited to play at home in front of family and friends on Ladies Day.
Knowing that they had some delicious snacks and desserts to enjoy after the game, our ladies arrived nice and early at 8 o’clock (mostly still asleep) to prepare for what would be a tough game against Bosco. The wind was chilli, the air was fresh and the sun was warm as the game began at 9 a.m.
The first five minutes of the game was all Sutherland: all the possession and field position, with a few early chances saw Sutho looking the most dominant in the game.
After about 20 minutes of good ball movement and possession, Sutho tapped away a goal on the post from a Lizzy Halyard shot tapped in by Tarah Whyte. Bosco then came back strong for the rest of the half, which ended Sutho up 1-nil.
The second half saw a change in momentum, with Bosco coming out all guns firing with some aggressive ball running. Our ladies held them out for a while, but after five consecutive short corners, Bosco levelled it up with a hit from the top. Then
Sutherland lifted from the resumption of play and for the final 15 minutes of the evenly matched second half we amassed an incredible number of shots, all of which were well defused by Bosco and their keeper.
In the final few minutes Jess Gilbertson lined up a shot which was deflected in by Jess White to see Sutherland take the 3 points from the match.
It was a good game by all, well fought to reclaim the lead after losing it so early in the second half. We were very proud of our team for their efforts and positivity to get the win.
Best and fairest: 3 points Sarah Rose, 2 Jess Gilbertson and 1 Lauren Lee.
3rd grade Sutho Wildcats 4 v Sutho White 0
Sutho vs Sutho at Sutho Ladies day was always going to be an entertaining game. This was the second time in three weeks we had played each other. There was a sense of anticipation in the air with the younger 3W team taking the field with something to prove after Wildcats won the last encounter.
There was a lot of intensity in the first 15 minutes.
Wildcats have been playing calm and controlled hockey recently but started out a bit slow, and spent a lot of energy chasing after the opposition.
However, we soon settled into our rhythm and scored the first goal up and over the goalie’s head. We kept the pressure on and scored a second with about 5 minutes to half time.
The second half was much of the same, but the game slowed down a bit. Wildcats were using the long balls well and managed to score another two goals for a final score of 4-0.
Ladies day is a highlight of the season and we would like to thank all those people who put effort into making it happen. Thank you!
Best and fairest. 3 Kirsty Margetson, 2 Kathleen Leach, 1 Kath Hails. Goals 2 Fiona Edgar 1 Elise Cummins 1 Kathy Hails.
Sutho 3W 0 Sutho 3 Wildcats 4
Having played a hard-fought game against this same side a few weeks previously, we went in with optimism.
This showed early on when the majority of the momentum was in our favour and we were mostly in attack. Lacking the the full ability of our injured captain saw this momentum cease earlier than we would have liked.
Once the first blood had been taken in the form of an incredibly unlucky goal, the intensity and optimism from the team took a visible hit and we were unable to string together another consistent attack.
We did come out of the game with lots to work on and focus on at training which is always a big plus.
Huge thanks to Tahlia Gibson for stepping in and saving the day, huge effort for us and not the first time either. Keep up the great work Tahlia!!
Points to 1 Grace Matthews, 2 Liz Wu and 3 Victoria Rouhiladef.
Men
Thank you to Tony O’Leary and Matt Morris for their contributions of pictures for our men’s and juniors matches coverage.
1st grade Sutho 9 Glebe 4
Once again missing six regular players but with the return of Brady Anderson, the team played some good hockey in the first half to lead 7 – 2.
It was obvious that the team did not come out for the second half with the same momentum as the first and only scored 2 more goals.
This allowed Glebe some room to move a little more freely with a relatively young team in the making.
So generally it was a lacklustre, cold night at downtown Cintra: no score board, no drink facility for the two teams to have a drink together at the end of the game.
There is really nothing of note to comment about other than a good spread of goals scored by various players headed up by MJ with 3 for the night.
2nd grade Sutho 8 Glebe 1
We had 8 players unavailable for the game against Glebe but once again Wade, Mason, Ryan (Malone and O’Leary) and Blake filled in admirably and helped us to a good win.
The team was captained magnificently by Ralph who led superbly from the front.
The team threw the ball around and the enthusiasm in defence was exceptional.
Brendan was on fire and scored 4 goals, while Zac got 2 and Iain and Mason got 1 each.
Shippy had a great all round game and deservedly got the 3 points. Brendo got 2 and Zac 1.
3rd grade Sutho 1 Glebe 3
After an extended field warm-up for no particular reason, Sutho took the field on a pleasant Saturday afternoon at Cintra.
Down on numbers, we had Sean and Elliot backing up after just playing 4th grade, as well as Ryan and Blake playing up into 2nd grade afterwards. With our usual goalkeepers either off in Europe or moving house, we also had Damo come down from 2nds and cover for us.
The game started with Sutho adjusting to position changes due to our missing players. Glebe managed to take advantage of this and after a turnover in the midfield, scored the first goal of the game.
The half continued with a strong Glebe attack being held off for the most part. Unfortunately, they were able to score two more goals, one shot that was deflected in and another that was initially blown as a short corner and changed into a goal after the fact.
Towards the end of the first half the Sutho attack started to dominate the game, with many opportunities and near misses, including a howling tomahawk from Mac that stunned the keeper through the helmet.
Shattered dreams
The half ended with a short corner awarded to Sutho. With the whole team on the circle we were hoping to repeat the end-of-half short corner goal against UTS a few weeks before.
Unfortunately our dreams were shattered when the umpire decided that Mac trapped the ball with a very wooden sounding foot.
After an “encouraging” half time talk, we took the field with a renewed drive for the game and the half started strong with opportunities up front and a solid defence.
Eventually the work was rewarded, with a deflection from Brady. Unfortunately the Glebe defence managed to hold out for the rest of the half, leaving the score at 3-1 at the end of the game.
Points: 3 Jay Kelly, 2 Hayden Neale, 1 Nic Rose. Goals: 1 – Brady Machen
4th grade Sutho 3 Glebe 2
B&F: 3 – Scott Willcocks, 2 – Brendan Hol, 1 – Charlie Johnston. Goals: Charlie Johnston, Matt Quinlivan, Josh Wiggins.
This week 4th grade showed the depth of our club with a VERY fresh faced line up taking the field. We have since calculated that even with a 49- and 47-year-old (they are the fresh faces), our average age was 24 and the median age was 17 for the 13 players! Zak Keelan made his seniors debut and joined six other Junior players in the side.
With this in mind – we warmed up casting an eye over the other side of the field and could see a team where the median age looked closer to 40 than 20 which excited those of us in the back line for Sutho, believing our super fit, fast and enthusiastic young strikers would be able to run around the Glebe defenders all day.
We took to the field and found that our defence and midfield were able to possess the ball and control the pace of the game.
Unfortunately, we let our guard down and a chaos ball hit into the circle by the Glebe midfield deflected off one of our sticks and then was mis-trapped by one of the Glebe strikers and deflected past a wrong-footed Dan.
We managed to regather our composure and continued to pile the pressure through weight of possession.
Unfortunately, many of our attacks were one-off running from our strikers without midfield support (who couldn’t catch up) so they didn’t result in high probability opportunities.
However, Josh Wiggins managed to scramble a goal with a nice bit of work late in the first half and we went in to the break at 1-1.
The second half saw us dominating possession through midfield again but Glebe scored with a well executed overhead out of defence which caught us unprepared for the quick break.
Not quite saved
With only their fourth entry into our circle for the game, their striker controlled the ball and slotted it past Dan’s diving mitt (Dan did well to get a touch to it but it was such a good shot he wasn’t able to save it) and we were down 1-2.
Midway through the second half, we managed to string together a series of passes utilising defenders, midfield and strikers from a defensive 16 which resulted in the ball entering the attacking circle along the right baseline and strikers being in the right position and ready for the ball and a goal to Quinlivan.
It was a well constructed goal which reflected the training work we have been doing over the last few weeks. We finally converted a penalty corner through Charlie’s beautiful off-drive and won the game.
Given the number of changes to the team it was a good result which kept us in the mix for finals. Well done lads.
B&F: 3 – Scott Willcocks, 2- Brendan Hol, 1 – Charlie Johnston. Goals: Charlie Johnston, Matt Quinlivan, Josh Wiggins.
5th grade Sutho 3 Moorebank 1
Some last minute scrambling for players saw us put out a young, fresh-faced team on the field with Huon Bollard and Jack Mecham playing another men’s game as well as a debut for Oliver Turner – whose Dad was in The Netherlands watching hockey to miss the event.
The scrambling meant we had plenty of players in the end but many were playing out our their regular positions, meaning it took some time to find our rhythm.
It was a slightly different looking Moorebank team than the one we beat 8-1 back in mid-April and our average execution of our game plan meant it took some time for us to dominate possession and create decent chances.
Our first goal was a pretty average drag-flick at a short corner by Mitch Russell, who obviously doesn’t spend as much time practising them as everyone else seems to these days.
We did concede a pretty weak goal on the break, with their English import providing a spark to the Moorebank attack that we failed to contain early on in the first half.
The other goals we scored can’t have been overly memorable as I don’t remember the details even though I was standing at central defender and could see it all unfolding.
Overall, another game we dominated and should have won by more, but their keeper was best on ground in my view as he made some awesome saves – hurts me to say that about a Moorebank player.
To counter that, there was some typical actions of a certain player who was diving head-first into tackle etc – somethings never change. Swings and roundabouts.
B&F: 3 – Oliver Turner, 2 – Mitch Russell, 1 – Andrew Hoy. Goals: Mitch Russell, Jack Mecham, Phil Rowling.
6th grade Sutho 1 Ryde 3
This was a spirited performance against the competition’s runaway leaders.
Sutho 6th grade faced a tricky task at home to Ryde. After positive results against Bankstown and UTS, Sutho looked to continue the good form at Sylvania against a well organised outfit.
With a starting squad that featured the Rowling brothers, plus other promising young talent from the school of hockey players at Sutherland, Sutho were looking for a promising first half.
Some excellent possession play kept Ryde at bay, but we lacked the clinical moves in front of the goal. Ryde came back towards the end of the half and pipped Sutho to a goal before the break: 1-0 Ryde at half time.
In the second half, another impressive performance from Sutherland was unlucky to get early goals, while Ryde somehow managed to squeeze another goal.
An excellent solo goal from one of the Mecham brothers pulled the game back into the grasp of the boys in blue but unfortunately to no avail. Ryde popped a third goal in with 5 mins to go. It was excellent intensity by the home team until the end.
Sutho will be looking to make amends this weekend away to Baulkam Hills.
7th grade Sutho 1 North West Strikers 1
Yet again 7th grade played to their best potential, but the ball just wouldn’t pop into their goal.
We tried so hard against North West strikers who scored first with a goal in the first half on a lucky break which left Rory standing.
And we went one player down after Adam Palmer received a ball to the forehead causing a nice little cut. Another battle wound for the defenders.
After a quick pep up talk during half time and we came out firing and had most of the ball but still had trouble with that final delivery until Damo scored to make it 1-1
The last 20 minutes was frantic, with numerous attempts – but nothing seemed to work for us. I’m sure one day our luck will turn and the goals will come.
Another hard-fought game where the opponent’s goalie is their player of the day – and I think that’s the fourth time running that has happened.
Thanks to Rory Anderson for standing in and in advance for next weekend.
One point each went to six players: Caleb Nieuwendyk, Conner Crowley, Damian Seager, Cameron Bayley, Mark Bayley and Matt Reid. with the one goal to Damian Seager.
Juniors
Sutho U17 Blue Tongues 0 Moorebank 1
After beating Moorebank 8-0 in Round One, the Blue Tongues travelled back out to Moorebank for the second Friday night this season. After our full team played a Moorebank team of eight players in the first game, we returned down two players against a full team.
The first half saw Sutho struggle to adjust to the full Moorebank team, but still maintaining possession and control of the game, seeing opportunities in attack and a strong defence.
A failed clearance saw Moorebank have an opportunity to attack our circle. They took full advantage, outskilling several Sutho players before scoring a precise tomahawk goal. Sutho regained control, but feeling the pressure, attempted to rush in attack, leaving Moorebank with a narrow 1-nil advantage at the end of the half.
The second half saw a now filled-with-confidence Moorebank playing very defensively, and Sutho struggling to penetrate the backline.
Play continued much the same, the Blue Tongues winning, but struggling to convert their chances, both field play and short corners, until finally, we managed to put a clean hit in the back of the goal, with a collective sigh of relief from the bench.
However, our relief was to be short-lived, as the umpire from halfway called for time and went to challenge the goal. After what felt like hours, the goal was disallowed and a 16 was awarded.
The half continued, Sutho still maintaining control but with players’ morale clearly down. Unfortunately Moorebank managed to hold a steady defence, leaving the score 1-0 at the end of the game.
Moorebank played a fantastic game, leaving Sutho with an unfortunate loss, made even worse by the fact that it was our Goal Keepers last game. Unfortunately, Svea’s exchange from Germany is almost up, and will be leaving us before we play our next game. She has been an amazing part of the team and we wish her all the best in the future.
Points: 3 – Svea, 2 – Sarah, 1 – Georgia.
Sutho U17 Geckos 2 Glebe 0
We won 2-0 with precision team goals. We are playing well as a team and are having a fun time! Special mention to Ashlee, who is playing a variety of positions in attack and defence, and is doing a fantastic job.
U15A Sutho 3 Uni 2
A very succinct report was filed: “Lost 3-2 to Uni. Their goalie played better than our strikers, and vice versa.”
U13B Sutho v Uni NSW
Sutho 15B Blue Tongues 1 Moorebank 0
It was a tropical 4 degrees at 8 a.m for the game against Moorebank on Saturday. The Blue Tongues hadn’t been able to get a win in against Moorebank in the last two matches and were keen to change that statistic.
The first half of the game was spent equally up both ends of the fields, but we were not able to convert opportunities into goals.
The team went out in the second half determined to get some points on the board. We were able to get the ball out to the side of the field and Josh was able to get one in behind the goalie late in the second half.
The Blue Tongues had a great game, passing well and great teamwork.
Well done to Kaylah in goals and congratulations to the team on a well deserved win.
Best and Fairest: 3 points – Nick, 2 points – Blake, 1 point – Joshua.
Sutho U13B Thorny Devils 3 St George Randwick 2
‘The turnaround’ continued today with a welcome win over a St George Randwick side that has improved substantially since our first game against them.
The scoreboard does not fairly represent the striking opportunities which were more like 5:1 in our favour. A lot of the defence on the SGR team was left to an excellent goalkeeper who displayed skills beyond what we are used to in the U13Bs.
We are doing the little things more often, but there is plenty of room to improve.
It is great to see the team playing ‘the press’ for parts of the game, and more consistency in the level of intensity will rattle the opposition into providing more goal opportunities.
It is easy to be caught up in the contest when going hard on the field, and the middle gets very busy, so it is up to everyone to scan the field, look for a player who is hopefully running into space, use the wings more to break up the defence, and ‘play as a team’.
When we did listen to the guidance given from the dugout, and put ourselves into position, the opportunities came alive.
A great drive to the corner from Mylo, converted into a lovely cross to Ethan, resulted in a classic goal.
Some nice hits from Kai this week thanks to Garry for his extra coaching in this area. Out of goals this week Nick listened to Garry, and was soon troubling the SGR defence, creating the passing opportunities that every game is won on.
Jack played a solid game, fighting back a cold as well as some tough contests for the ball.
In keeping with Ladies Day for our senior club this weekend, it was also Ladies Days in the point score for best and fairest. There were excellent performances from Jana, Mackenzie and Amelia who were kept busy, and played hard the entire match and were instrumental in today’s win.
Go Sutho!!
Best and fairest: 3 pts Jana Dimitrovska, 2 pts Mackenzie Shaw and 1 pt Amelia Domrow. Goals: Ethan Locke 2.
Sutho U13B Blue Tongues 9 Glebe 1
Today’s game was a huge win with a score of 9 goals to 1. As our expert coach was away on holiday, we only focused the team on three things:
- team work
- going wide
- playing “hot potato” (taking the free hits fast).
The team stepped up and passed to each other really well. There were so many passes into the “D” then passes to the “spot” and then into the goals. There were lots of smiling faces after the game.
Best and fairest: 3 pts: Flynn Whittaker, 2 pts: Lachlan Duhne, 1 pt: Finn Wille. Goals: Flynn Whittaker 3, Lachlan Duhne 3, Finn Wille 1, Chris Goodman 1 and Liv Coxsedge 1.
Sutho U11A Geckos 1 UNSW 0
Considering the season’s momentum interruptions caused by forfeits, byes, representative commitments, and a multitude of holidays, the Gecko’s pulled together for the cool Saturday morning game.
Our positional play certainly indicated that our “hockey brains” are kicking in, with our leading and passing hitting the mark.
A fantastic example of this was the build-up that lead to a cracking goal finished off by Amy Whetters in the first half.
UNSW’s goalkeeper had an outstanding game, saving a multitude of our scoring attempts.
It all came down to our solid defensive efforts to restrict the opposition’s shots on goal. A great team effort and congratulations to Milan, Rhys, and Kalahni who tied for players player, receiving two points each.
Sutho U11B Bearded Dragons 5 Sydney University Cubs 2
The Bearded Dragons fought hard this week against Sydney Uni, whose mid-field was particularly strong.
We are really starting to work well as a team in passing the ball out wide.
Rohan drew the defence to the wing on multiple occasions allowing space to open up for a pass into the D where players were waiting to cross the ball to Kaylee who was ready at the post to guide the ball past the keeper. It was just like watching the perfect training drill over and over with Thomas and Jack getting in on the scoring as well.
It’s fantastic to watch the kids put into practice what they have been learning at training each week and to see their game develop. Hopefully they come back from the holiday break refreshed and ready to continue an already great season of hockey.
Best and fairest: 2pts each Kaylee Rule, Thomas Blackman, Emily Carey. Scorers: Kaylee 3, Jack, Thomas.