By Jonty Ralphsmith
Casey’s women were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw on Saturday after a last-gasp short corner couldn’t find the back of the net.
In the last play of the game, Sam Wagg laid it off to Mikayla Davis, who cleared the goal keeper, but couldn’t find the back of the net after a deflection off an MCC defender hit the post and ricocheted out of bounds.
The Cannons dominated the last quarter against third-placed MCC, having five short corners but unable to score the sealer.
Mikayla McDonald scored both the goals, including one in the first quarter which put the Cannons up momentarily before a quick MCC response.
The visitors took the lead into halftime and started the second half strongly, before Davis evened up proceedings with the last goal of the game just before three-quarter-time.
“Our fitness stood up which is good for the confidence of the players because they put in work in preseason so it is good for them to see the results of the hard work,” said coach Andrew Harris.
“There’s a bit of evidence now that our style is working given we’ve been competitive with all the former premier league sides.”
As well as McDonald, Tegen Hyland and Emma Harris were also strong, the latter creating several second-half short corners in her first game back from injury.
It concludes a tough run of games against the strong sides in the competition, with the next two games decisive in whether Casey make the top six to qualify for finals.
The Cannons currently occupy seventh place, two points behind sixth-placed Monash University, with games against fellow finals contenders West Vic (ninth) and Mornington (10th) to come.
The knockout-style finals format introduced this season has the club confident that it can do damage regardless of where it finishes if it qualifies.
Meanwhile, the men also had a draw, 3-3 against Eastern Christian Hockey Organisation despite missing five first choice players.
The Cannons scored first and held the lead for much of the contest until the late stages when the opposition came hard, with the Cannons able to hold on for a draw.
Craig Moore, Josh Watson and goal-keeper Matt Hollway were among the standouts, while Josh Grant, Ben Hare and David Jensen were the goal-scorers.
The result sees third-placed Knox close in on Casey, with both teams sitting on 14 points, just two clear of sixth-placed Bayside in a logjam Vic League 2 men’s competition.
“It showed we actually have depth in the club now – it was a great team effort to hold on for a draw,” said coach Steve Noney.
“The development has looked good – we’ve got 14-21-year-olds coming through the seconds and four guys in that age group are honing their skills.
“It’s a mater of trying to harness that young talent and get them play a style of senior hockey.”
