TEM Finals Review

Mens Vic League 1 - TEM Vic League 1 Men faced Casey in a must win elimination final, with TEM out to prove a point after two seasons of VL1 without beating Casey. As expected, the game was hot early on. Both sides traded blows, with TEM creating marginally better chances. TEM's press was at its most ruthless creating a number of dangerous turn overs, and Ev Jewell, Braden Pitcher and Hugh Mclaughlin had a number of excellent chances however failed to convert.

Casey won a penalty corner and Matty Light sent a drag flick into the top corner against his old side, which saw Casey take a 1-0 lead. This score would remain the same heading into half time. TEM began the second half as they had done the first, full of running, applying lots of pressure. Reward for all their effort came in the form of numerous corners and field goal chances. TEM managed to convert through a Braden Pitcher field goal that was the culmination of a sequence that involved fresh air swings, mishits and a typical Pitcher stumble.

The remainder of the game saw TEM attack and Casey defend bravely to hold on 2-1 winners. The game was an apt summary of TEM's season, do everything but score goals! The boys will be looking to change this for 2017.

Mens Vic League 1 Reserves – Finals are here! After a long season the TEM Reserves boys were up against rivals Mentone at the Hockey Centre which was a huge match! 1st vs 2nd with the winner going straight through to the final. Past results showed the two teams drawing through the season on both occasions.

The first half started as expected with both teams controlling the ball well and pressure being applied relentlessly. Halfway through first half TEM earned a short corner and with a well-rehearsed variation resulted in Andrew "Hungry as ever especially on the big stage" Mills deflecting in the first goal of the game to give TEM the lead. Shortly after this Mentone managed to draw level with a similar variation off a short corner.

All tied up at halftime both teams knew they had to throw everything at it to get the crucial winner in the second half. Both teams enjoyed dominance at different stages of the half with the highlight a match winning double save off the line for Ben Jaffe off a Mentone short corner.

With 10 minutes to go the boys won another short corner and Dan Mioni got the lay off and buried the decisive goal ensuring the boys won 2-1. Absolutely brilliant effort by the boys, but the job is not over with the final 2 weeks away. Bring on the grand final!

Mens Metro Blue – TEM Men’s Metro Blue had a big game, 3v4, with the winner to progress on to the next weekend’s preliminary final. They were up against Maccabi and the match was very even throughout and came down to the death. With plenty of tight moments, TEM won the game 3- 2, which sets up a TEM Metro Red vs TEM Metro Blue prelim final, a sure way to ensure another TEM team is in a Grand Final!

Mens Masters – TEM Men’s 45D Men took on Camberwell on Monday night in the preliminary final to see who would make it through to the grand final. The men were out to prove a point after losing their first game all season last week, and took out the game decisively 4-1. This sets up an all-important rematch against Hawthorn this coming Monday!

Womens Metro Blue – After finishing fourth on the ladder, TEM Metro Blue played 3rd position Southern at their Moorabbin home ground on Saturday evening. The match drew quite a crowd, with plenty of noise and support from TEM's players and family from a variety of grades and ages. This support was definitely noticed and appreciated by the Blues, considering they fielded a team of only 12 players and needed all the encouragement the girls could get! 

Southern came out quite strong from the start, with TEM focusing on forming a good defence and then leading into more attack. Southern kept their legs fresh by utilising their large bench frequently, which at times confused TEM which lead to short periods of unmarked opponents. Palma Casonato had a fantastic game in goal, calling all TEM's players back into position and making some great (and intimidating!) saves as well. Unfortunately Southern used their opportunity of a free player and scored the first goal of the match, leading the score 1-0 at half time. 

Despite Southern's big bench, they began to tire in the later part of the second half, with TEM jumping at the opportunity and continuing to fight for possession. In the last 5-10 minutes of the game, TEM's hard work ultimately paid off with a beautiful free hit by Yvette Schroeder from attacking 25 and Kim Davie popping the ball into the goal. With the score now even at 1-1, TEM gave all their might in the final few minutes of the match but unfortunately ran out of time to score. The winner was now set to be decided by a shootout, which unfortunately had not been anticipated or practiced by the Blues. Palma Casonato was excellent in goals and made terrific saves, but unfortunately Southern's agile goalie prevented TEM from scoring, ultimately leading to Southern winning the match 3-1 and moving onto the prelims. 

The Blues have had a fantastic season and made a phenomenal amount of progress. The team sat 2nd bottom on the ladder for the majority of the season's first half, and continued to grow together as a team which led to better teamwork and improvements of their weaknesses. It was a big achievement to make the semi-final and something to be proud of! Thanks to Adam Bailey, Cam McLaughlin and Cam MacPhie for being fantastic coaches throughout this fun season! And thanks to everyone who filled in throughout the year.