A STRONG start laid the foundation for Lithgow Zig Zag’s upset 3-2 victory over St Pat’s in Saturday’s men’s Premier League Hockey minor semi-final.
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Playing at Bob Roach Field against defending premiers St Pat’s, Taylor Tattersall, Dean Simmons and Luke Sheppard all scored in the opening half for Zig Zag to lead 3-0 at the break.
Zig Zag showed greater intensity and a higher work rate from the opening whistle and drew a number of saves from Pat’s goalkeeper Taylor Newton.
The visitors had earned five penalty corners – scoring off two – and intercepted countless passes, while the Saints only had three chances in the opening 35 minutes.
After the break Pat’s lifted and with co-captain Jaden Ekert scoring from a penalty corner drag flick then again 60 seconds later from the field, it was game on.
Riley Hanrahan, Josh Toole, Aidan Charters and Ekert all tested Zig Zag goalkeeper Luke Thurtell, but were unable to find a third goal. The loss ended St Pat’s season.
“It was a good start to the game for us. We had started slow the last couple of weeks and it was something that we spoke about,” Zig Zag skipper Ben Kelly said.
“So it was great we started well today and put our chances away early.
“At half-time we knew it wasn’t job done – no way, not against a quality side like St Pat’s. Earlier on in the year we were leading 2-0 and they got it back to 2-all.
“They have been the benchmark of the comp for the last five or six years, so to beat a quality side like them – it was great for us.”
ST PAT’S IN SHOCK
HE dragged St Pat’s back into Saturday’s minor semi-final with two goals in the space of 60 seconds against Lithgow Zig Zag, but at full-time Jaden Ekert cast a bitterly disappointed figure.
He and his fellow Saints walked off the turf for the final time in the 2016 men’s Premier League Hockey competition as they lost 3-2.
The defending premiers had come from 3-0 down to make it a one-goal game with 20 minutes to go and though Pat’s created more chances – finishing with a count of nine penalty corners – no-one was able to find a leveller.
“We gave them too much of a star,” co-captain Ekert said.
“They scored two really good goals off short corners and short corners these days are so critical.
“We had our chances, Riley [Hanrahan] had a nice tomahawk shot but it was a tough angle and he just couldn’t get it around.”
