WA fights back to claim thrilling last-minute victory in Hockey Australia Under-21s National Championships

The WA Women’s State Team have opened their Hockey Australia Under-21s National Championships campaign with a thrilling come from behind victory, downing New South Wales 3-2 at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University.

In the opening match of their tournament run, WA suffered to two unanswered goals for New South Wales up to the 39^th minute, despite controlling the majority of the play.

In a showcase of strength and fight, the WA side piled on two goals in quick succession in the 42^nd and 44^th minutes through Jade Vanderzwan and Britney Desilva to draw the sides level late in the piece.

In the final play of the match, WA managed to earn a penalty corner, with Britney Desilva the hero with her second, downing New South Wales and claiming the 3-2 win in a fight back for the ages.

WA Under-21s Women’s Head Coach Steph Andrews was thrilled with her side’s effort to fight through adversity.

“We have a set of processes in place that we want to adhere to, whether we’re leading or fighting from behind in the tournament, so it was really pleasing to see the girls stick to their guns and fight for the victory,” Andrews says.

“I thought the character shown while we were two-nil down was pleasing to see. The girls did not give up regardless of the result and really worked together to scrap and fight back for the win.”

With two crucial goals to her name, the Player of the Match, WA’s Britney Desilva, was proud that her team was able to overcome a difficult position to reap the rewards.

“It was a stressful game at times, and we were under the pump from the start – New South Wales really applied the pressure early on,” Desilva says.

“I am just most proud of the fact that we stuck to our game plan and were able to show that if we fight as a team, we can claim a victory regardless of the position we are in.”

The WA Under-21s Women’s side will compete in their second match tonight, Thursday 21 July against Victoria from 6:00pm at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University. The WA men’s will compete in their opening match against the Northern Territory from 4:30pm.

For live scores and standings, click here.