Hockey's return delivers stunning results

After a one-week hiatus due to Perth’s snap three-day lockdown, the All Flags Premier League returned to the Perth Hockey Stadium pitch in style on Friday night, with a double-header between the Men’s and Women’s WASPs and Wolves sides.

The men’s match saw a final-minutes thriller, with Westside Wolves pulling off an incredible come-back draw after going 3-0 down to WASPs.

WASPs piled on the goals in the 1^st, 6^th and 33^rd minutes with Wolves looking all but done for the day, but the side dug deep to score in the 45^th+, 50^th and 56^th minutes to snatch a point on the table in an incredible match.

The Women’s Wolves side went about their business in a comfortable 2-0 win over WASPs, with goals in the 7^th and 38^th minutes to Jessica Freedman and Madi Ratcliffe respectively giving the side their first win of the season over a red-hot WASPs.

Another double-header on Saturday between Melville and Curtin at Pulse Stadium saw two very different results from the Men’s and Women’s sides.

The Melville men’s side made a massive statement towards the rest of the competition, securing a phenomenal 12-0 win over Curtin, with the side sitting comfortably at the top of the Men’s standings.

Melville’s James Day is proving to be one of the most valuable players in the competition this season, scoring five goals for the match, with four of those falling in succession in a 17-minute period.

It was a different story in the women’s match, with Curtin coming out on top with a 2-1 win over Melville; Chantelle Ciallella and Chelsea Turner leading the side to victory after going 1-0 down, with goals in the 43^rd and 49^th minutes respectively.

At Warwick Hockey Centre, North Coast Raiders came away with a 3-1 win over YMCC after going 1-0 down in the opening minutes of the match; a quick response to YMCC’s opening goal saw the side score in the 9^th, 11^th and 24^th minutes with fantastic efforts from Robin Walsh, Annie Gibbs and Jade Vanderzwan.

A huge double-header at UWA Superturf saw the UWA and Vic Park Men’s and Women’s sides go head-to-head, with all teams in sensational form resulting in two strong contests.

The Women’s match opened the fixture and UWA put on a show, defeating the reigning Grand Final winners in Vic Park in a strong 2-0 win to kickstart their season with two wins; goals to Lily Brazel and Bridget Smith in the 26^th and 40^th minutes leading the side to victory.

In the Men’s, UWA replicated the women’s side with a strong victory over Vic Park; UWA scoring the first three goals of the match and holding off a late come-back by Vic Park to win 4-2.

The action continued on Sunday, with the Men's Hale and Whitford sides facing off in a strong tussle.

Hale proved to be too strong for the Whitford side, claiming a 2-0 victory, with Hale's Geoff Cock contributing with his 200th Premier League goal.

OGMHC continued their search for their first win of the season against a Fremantle Cockburn side looking to push towards the top half of the Men's Premier League standings.

Fremantle Cockburn proved too strong for the win-less OGMHC side, piling on four goals to one to give their team an added boost on their journey towards the top end of the table; goals to Tim Deavin, Harrison Keymer, Kieran Abbott and Matt Bird in the 24th, 31st, 41st and 59th minutes respectively showcasing Fremantle Cockburn's want to share their opportunities and become a formidable side.

Hale hit the turf again on Sunday for their Women's match-up against Suburban Lions who were fresh off a tough draw in the previous round and out to kick start their season with a win.

The lions were unable to pull away from a strong Hale side and suffered their second draw of the season in a tough 1-1 scoreline with their hopes crushed in the 56th minute with a goal to Fiona Cock.

A fixture between Reds and YMCC in the Men's rounded out the weekend's matches at Aquinas Turf, with Reds looking to bolster their position on the standings and give a red-hot Melville side a challenger towards the top of the table.

It was a back-and-forth contest between the two sides with either side unable to break-away heading in to the final term with the scoreline sitting at 2-2; in the end, Reds managed to snatch the three points through a goal from star player Aaron Kleinschmidt in the 51st minute.

Results

Friday 30 April

Men’s WASPS 3 draw Wolves 3

Goals:

WASPs – Kyle Potter (1’) (33’), Lewis Barritt (6’)

Wolves – Oscar Charlesworth (45’+), Simon Benetti (50’), Tom Harvie (56’)

Women’s WASPs 0 def. by Wolves 2

Goals:

Wolves – Jessica Freedman (7’), Madi Ratcliffe (38’)

Saturday 1 May

Men’s Melville 12 def. Curtin 0

Goals:

Melville – Ryan Hyder (4’), Matt Willis (4’) (19’) (21’) (53’), Tim Geers (15’), Ben Staines (16’), James Day (21’) (33’) (40’) (41’) (50’)

Women’s Melville 1 def. by Curtin 2

Goals:

Melville – Beatriz Monger-Molowny (15’)

Curtin – Chantelle Ciallella (43’), Chelsea Turner (49’)

Women’s North Coast Raiders 3 def. YMCC 1

Goals:

North Coast Raiders – Robin Walsh (9’), Annie Gibbs (11’), Jade Vanderzwan (24’)

YMCC – Tara Fitzpatrick (2’)

Women’s UWA 2 Def. Vic Park 0

Goals:

UWA – Lily Brazel (26’), Bridget Smith (40’)

Men’s UWA 4 def. Vic Park 2

Goals:

UWA – Frank Main (15’), Chris Bausor (17’), Harry Golding (28”), Daniel Timms (36’)

Vic Park – Jason Gabriel (34’) (49’)

Sunday 2 May

Men's Hale 2 def. Whitford 0

Goals:

Hale - Liam Flynn (29'), Geoff Cock (31')

Men's OGMHC 1 def. by Fremantle Cockburn 4

Goals:

OGMHC - Tim Bates (48')

Fremantle Cockburn - Tim Deavin (24'), Harrison Keymer (31'), Kieran Abbott (41'), Matt Bird (59')

Women's Hale 1 draw Lions 1

Goals:

Hale - Fiona Cock (56')

Suburban Lions - Sammy Prost (26')

Men's Reds 3 def. YMCC 2

Goals:

Reds - Chaz Davies (27'), Aaron Kleinschmidt (44') (51')

YMCC - Hamish Adamson (11'), Christopher Lim (40')