PEGS coach Rob Carruthers walked away from his side’s a 2-1 loss to Werribee in the Hockey Victoria women’s Vic League 2 at PEGS Sports Fields at Keilor Park on Saturday with mixed emotions.
PEGS found the lead through a penalty stroke from Claire Aston, but “silly errors” at the back proved costly and that advantage had been extinguished by half-time and turned into a deficit by the final whistle.
“We got the first goal and looked the goods,” Carruthers said. “Then we made a couple of silly errors, which gave them a couple of goals.
“We hit the post with a penalty stroke, so it quite easily could’ve been two-all, and we missed a few other opportunities.
“I’m feeling a bit of everything – fairly happy, but a bit disappointed we didn’t take our opportunities.”
PEGS pressed for an equaliser late on, but came up empty.
Carruthers reckons his team needed to play with a bit more composure in order to break down a sturdy Werribee defence.
“We fell out of our structures,” he said. “A bit more patience was needed – instead of snatching at their chances, making sure they really take them.”
While the result did not go the way of PEGS, there were still plenty of positive to take away from the game.
The debut of Tilka Hassing, a new recruit from Altona, was impressive.
“She held the defence together beautifully in her first game,” Carruthers said.
“It was good to see what she can do in match conditions.”
Sarah Turner worked hard in an attacking sense, while Jacqui Davis offered sound leadership as the caretaker captain, with PEGS likely to appoint a full-time skipper this week.
The team is confident of an improved performance against Monash University away on Saturday.
“I think they’re really starting to head in the right direction,” Carruthers said.
“We’ve got a couple more to come back and it’s just learning how to play with the new players, too.
“Once we gel, I think we’ll go well this year.”
In men’s Vic League 1, PEGS registered its first win of the season, downing Casey 2-1 at the PEGS Sports Fields.
Both of PEGS goals came in the first half, through Clarke Rossiter and Anthony Caparello.
PEGS will be away to undefeated ladder leader WestVic on Saturday.
