Young gun fires Cannons

A DEVASTATING 10-minute second half spurt that yielded four goals propelled the Casey Cannons men’s thirds into the Metro Three South grand final in a thrilling 4-3 result.
The Cannons’ miserable first half against arch-rival St Bede’s became a distant memory as young gun Blane Cridge took over.
Cridge first knocked in a classy set piece from an Andrew Axton strike to lock the game at 1-1 before going baseline and flicking one past the defences from an acute angle.
Goal machine Craig Moore made it 3-1 shortly after and a mad scramble on the next Casey attack saw an opportunistic strike from Michael Bannister.
A frantic final 10 minutes saw St Bede’s fly forward in waves and manage to slot two goals to make the result closer.
Captain Rodney Tredoux said the Cannons were one win away from ‘wearing that medal around our necks’.
Casey takes on Mornington in this weekend’s grand final.
The women’s Metro One South side was knocked out of the finals race in straight sets, going down to TEM 3-1.
The TEM team jumped out of the blocks with two goals in the first five minutes, making it very hard for the Cannons.
The girls, to their credit, fought back and scored through the energetic Sue Barling to make it 2-1 before half-time.
Early second-half forays forward were fruitless and TEM put the nail in the coffin shortly before full-time.
Liz Nicholl provided spark on the wing and found willing allies in Laura Morris, Lee Greenwood and Carlie Stewart.
Coach Marinette Dames played a great game and was positive in her assessment of the team’s season.
“I think overall we had a fantastic year; we’ve had some great wins, a few losses, but where we came on the ladder (second), we achieved our potential,” she said. “It’s disappointing we didn’t go further in the finals, but, individually, every single player has developed in their hockey and, to me, that’s a successful year.”
The women’s State League Three side was also shot out of the finals 3-1 against Mornington at the State Hockey Centre.