Strikers M Red claimed the premiership in style.
Photo by
Jazzy Johal
Shepparton Strikers Red completed a superb finals charge to claim the Goulburn Valley Hockey Association men’s premiership.
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Led by Player of the Match, Ben Costa, the Reds defeated Shepparton Youth Club Blue 2-1 in a tight grand final at Shepparton Regional Hockey Complex, completing a run which saw them defeat each of the competition’s other top-four sides during the finals.
Shepparton Strikers Red entered the postseason from third after an impressive home-and-away campaign, finishing with eight wins, one draw and three losses from 12 games.
The Reds were also the competition’s most prolific attacking side, scoring 60 goals, but their 25 points left them narrowly behind second-placed SYC Blue on 26 and minor premier SYC Yellow on 28.
Their route to the flag was far from straightforward.
The Reds first edged clubmate Strikers Blue 3-2 in their semi-final before producing a statement 4-1 preliminary final victory over SYC Yellow, which had gone undefeated during the home-and-away season.
SYC Blue had taken a more direct route to the decider. After finishing the regular season with an 8-2-2 record, it stunned SYC Yellow 5-4 in a thrilling semi-final to advance directly to the grand final.
However, after a week off, SYC Blue could not halt the Reds’ momentum.Shepparton Strikers Red prevailed 2-1 to complete a perfect finals series, scoring nine goals and conceding just four across its three knockout victories.
In the women’s competition, Mooroopna completed its dominant campaign with a 2-0 grand final victory over Echuca-Moama.
The Cats had set the benchmark throughout the home-and-away season, finishing minor premier with 13 wins, one draw and just one loss from 15 matches.
Mooroopna scored 56 goals and conceded only 10 on its way to 40 points, finishing 11 clear of second-placed Echuca-Moama, which compiled a 9-2-4 record.
The Cats then continued their dominance in the finals, beating SYC 4-0 in their semi-final to earn a direct passage to the decider.
Echuca-Moama booked its place alongside them by defeating the Shepparton Strikers 2-1 in the other semi-final.
But Mooroopna, inspired by Kerry Gannon, proved too strong when the premiership was on the line, winning 2-0 to cap its outstanding season and, remarkably, complete its finals campaign without conceding a goal.
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