Camberwell Retain Jesse Foster Cup in 4-1 Victory Over TEM
It was an unexpectedly sunny afternoon at H-1, and Camberwell were keen to return to the winner's circle after a disappointing draw against Essendon last week. Our first and only home and away round meeting with TEM this season also meant we'd be facing off for the Jesse Foster Cup. An important day for our group as we remember Jesse Foster, an influential figure at both Camberwell and TEM hockey clubs who tragically took his own life at the age of 32. These matches are an important reminder to us to ensure we're taking the right steps to look out for our mates, and shines a very important light on the issue of men’s mental health in our community. For more information on Jesse and the what this trophy is to our respective clubs, take a look at our website. Hamish Ridland puts it best:
We are ultimately a community based club where our culture is founded and passed on by its people. We often focus on premierships as a measure of our success of which we have a rich history. Jess’s passing had a profound impact on how we at Camberwell view ourselves, how we measure ourselves. Whilst we play hockey at Camberwell (no matter your skill level) for the love of the sport, it’s the people you meet and get to know that ultimately matter the most.
Camberwell came out of the gate strong, applying some decent pressure on the TEM defence and showing some great connection that was missing last week. Despite this, things weren't perfect yet. A quick counter attack from TEM found two of their strikers one on one with George, calmly slotting the ball to go one ahead against the run of play early on. Not the start we would have liked, but alarm bells weren't ringing just yet. We still had all of the play, and it would only be a matter of time before we'd open our account.
Quarter time and some encouraging words from coach plus a quick sock change for late arrival Pat Coates had us out firing. Ten minutes later a shot from an impossible angle by Max Hendry found the backboard, levelling the scores. It wasn't our first meaningful payoff either, a disallowed goal and a few unsuccessful short corners were showing our dominance. Take a look at Hendry's angle above, and the acres of space Frosty (I think) gets before injecting the ball into the attacking D. A great example of a 'shots on target' philosophy that is paying dividends.
Now into the third quarter, we continued to control the play and pressure TEM. Four minutes in and Josh Henderson finds the back of the net with a lovely field goal, putting us 2-1 up. The score was finally beginning to catch up and more accurately represent the state of the game. Ten minutes later, Hendry found himself on the right end of an excellent ball from Josh Henderson, and with a lifetime of time on his hands calmly slotted the ball into the roof of the net, proving a handy striker in his first match in that line of 2019.
Coming into the fourth quarter 3-1 up, it was time to finish the job. TEM were starting to tire, and our defensive line started playing some of their nicest hockey of the match, calmly moving the ball around, connecting well with our attacking half and positioning beautifully to get on the other side of the TEM defence's hit and hope relief strategy. Six minutes in, a quick hit from Coates brought the final score to 4-1.
A solid response after a disappointing draw last week, retaining the Jesse Foster Cup for the sixth time. This weekend we take on Melbourne Uni at home at 2PM. Some solid work required, Uni were one of the only teams to beat us last season, and will surely present a challenge again, so get down for an entertaining game of hockey.