TEM Weekly Review #19

Mens Vic League 1 - TEM travelled to Brunswick in the final game game for season 2016, and a win would see TEM secure a finals berth. TEM started well, putting Brunswick under immense pressure. A number of excellent chances were created with Angus Gillespie converting a goal mouth scrap that saw TEM take a one to nil lead. 

TEM continued to dominate winning a series of penalty corners. Will Harty stepped up and flicked a ball low into the corner to take a 2-0 lead. At half time the score would remain at 2-0. The second half unfolded in a similar manner to the first with TEM controlling the game. Brunswick struggled to break the TEM press and seldom looked threatening. TEM came away 2-0 winners and secure a finals berth. The boys celebrated with some of Brunswicks finest craft beers as they watched the seconds run away 11-0 winners. TEM will face Casey in an elimination final next week.

Mens Vic League 1 Reserves – In the final game of the home and away season the Reserves were out on Saturday evening at Brunswick. The maths was simple, win and secure the double chance and finish in 2nd lose and leave the possibility of finishing 3rd and having an elimination round of finals.

The boys knew the importance of the win and came out firing, and with a finals-ready intensity 5 goals were scored as Brunswick struggled to come up with a response in what can only be described as a challenging playing surface.

The second half started similarly with TEM hammering on the Brunswick goal relentlessly, and another 6 in the second half capped off a full 70 minute performance for the boys which will hold them with great confidence for week 1 of finals against Mentone.

The goals went to: Charlie "Ladies Man" Westacott - 1

Andrew "Hungry" Mills - 4 (Double Brace), self appointed 4 assists also...

Oli "Smiling Assasin" Ritman - 1Kobe "Doesn’t count if I don’t call Kobe" Dudley - 2

Alex "Where am I" Baer - 2

And most of all, spiritual leader of the team Ben Jaffe scoring his first non-own goal since he had hair, what a stroke it was!

Mens Metro Blue and Metro Red – In the battel of the TEM Men’s Metro teams, Metro Red took out the honors with a 4-3 win.  The game could have gone either way, but Red stuck to their game plan and won the game. Both sides are in the finals this week, so good luck to both teams!

Mens Masters – Men’s 45D Men took on Hawthorn on Monday night in a game to see who would make it straight through to the grand final. In a match full of action and goals galore, TEM suffered their first defeat of the year going down 4-3, but they live to fight another day in the second chance final next Monday!

Womens Premier League – TEM Premier League Women played Mentone this week at the State Netball and Hockey Centre as part of Hockey Victoria’s Livestream Super Sunday. The girls started slow, with Mentone able to pile on the pressure early on. The TEM defence kept them out until just before half time, where Mentone managed to sneak in a break away goal after creating a two on one with the keeper.

After some strong advice from super coach Greg Bussell at half time, and the reminder there was only 35 mins left to play in the whole season, the TEM girls came out firing! Courtney Hansford scored a magnificent solo effort past the keeper, followed by another Gemma “Deflections all around” Donataccio goal off a hit in from Darci Kleinschmidt. TEM took the lead out to 3-1 after an inspirational Sarah “Goal-machine” Tulloch strike.

Despite having a lot of control over the game, with some fantastic passing in the midfield, TEM were unlucky to have a corner awarded against them with around 10 mins to go, and Mentone capitalized. Some scrambling defence after, and several more corners which TEM were able to keep out, and Mentone were awarded a stroke after the final whistle. They scored, meaning the girl ended up with a 3-3 draw to finish.

Womens Premier League Reserves – After a tough season, and the tough time slot of the delayed Sunday night game, the Reserves lined up for the last time this year under the patient coaching skills of Disco Miller. Up against a wide and deep Mentone, who scored early, with TEM working up on the forward line the girls equalled the score in the first half.

TEM’s young and fast mids, Olivia Wood, Annabel and Charlotte Kennedy strung together some fantastic passes, to create opportunities up forward. All season we have had Claire Douglas, Laura Tulloch and Rachael King working super hard in defence, and lately Bec Haining stepping up to provide stability up back. Therese McArthur had some great saves this round to add to the long list of great saves for a season which kept her on her toes at all times.

Unfortunately Mentone scored a few goals back in the second half for a final score of 4-1. The 2XU-Hi-Peformance-visor Player of Season '16 went to Charlotte Ritman, somebody to keep an eye on in future years.

Womens Pennant A – Women's Pennant A had their final match against St Kilda/Powerhouse at the weekend. With a point to prove they came out firing at the girls, scoring early in the match. Not long after Anna Clothier copped a stray ball to the head and had to finish up early to get glued back together.  

Sonia Burman had an absolute blinder scoring both goals, one beautiful deflection, and another with a great assist from Emma Barham. If TEM had another 15 minutes on field (or pulled their socks up a little earlier) the girls would have had them, but instead finished with a 3-2 loss on the scoreboard. Pen A finished in the middle of the table, not a bad result for a team in Pennant B last season. Now the girls know they are in the right grade, it's all about stepping up and making top four next season. Go TEM!

Womens Pennant C - With TEM's last game against MCC ending in a tie, WPC were keen to improve on that result. After holding them to 0-0 at half time, unfortunately not able to convert their many opportunities, MCC came back in the second half with a goal from a stroke and a field goal. A disappointing end to the season but it's clear WPC has drastically improved as a side compared to 2015, so bring on season 2017!

Womens Metro Red – What a great day and a great way to end the season. Everyone played an inspirational team game. It feels good when practice comes together and converts into scores; against Waverley, twice. Unlucky to give away a stroke but ended with a 2-1 win. All very pleased and enthusiastically sang the team song one more time. What a great bunch of team mates, coach and club. Looking forward to barracking for Blues in finals & summer season with everyone.

Womens Metro Blue – TEM Blue versed Bayside for the final round, where a win for the Blues was crucial in order to make finals. Playing at Bayside's home ground, the Blues were already familiar with the slow and sticky pitch and aware the girls needed to focus on strong passing, keeping the ball close to their sticks, and always going in for second efforts.

Bayside began the game hard and fast, putting the pressure on TEM's midfield and defence. However TEM soon made their mark with several strong runs down the centre by Katie Jewell, eventually leading to a team goal. TEM closely followed this with a second goal, taking the team into half time with a 2-0 lead.

During the second half TEM focused on smarter, cleaner plays, patience with ball carrying, and closer marking of free players. TEM found success with some strong hits on free passes to attackers creating great space with leads, as well as running the ball down the line or the centre, with further great plays by Katie Jewell, Emma Clarke and Kelly Applebee. TEM's majority of possession frustrated Bayside, with the home team making hurried free hits and messy tackles. By the final whistle, TEM brought home a convincing 3-0 win to take the girls into the finals! Goal scorers of the day were Kim Davie, Alice Whitford and Bailey Ryan.