Elimination Final 4/9/2016: TEM Blue 3 v 2 Maccabi (D.Guttman, Watson)

Maccabi hockey club has been knocked out of the finals after a nail biting 3-2 defeat to rivals Toorak East-Malvern on Sunday. Mark Bloom made a cracking start to the game, filling in for vice-captain Orren Chabat at full back. He intercepted an early TEM attack and charged down the field, jinking past two defenders before laying a perfectly weighted through ball to Jarred Grek. Grek took the ball into the circle, drew the keeper out of the goals before laying a pass left to Daniel Guttmann who put the ball into the unguarded net. Bryce Watson was busy in midfield and helped win two short corners for Maccabi but the shots from both corners were saved by the keeper.

Down the other end, Bloom and Ben Kaye were cutting out the TEM attacks before they reached the circle. The one time that a TEM forward dribbled his way into the circle, he was able to find a free man on the spot to turn home the equaliser. Shortly after, despite the pressure being applied by Jeremy Robin, TEM managed to get a back stick shot away but it flashed just wide of the goal.

Maccabi found itself down 2-1 early in the second half, Ethan Faifer saving a short corner but giving away another as the ball went high in the circle off his pads. The resultant corner squirmed under his pads and into the goals. Bloom then got out quickly to block another short corner as Maccabi’s goal was put under siege. It took a strong run out of defence from young gun Phil de Carvalho Koch to push Maccabi up the field. When Lawrence Lifson intercepted a TEM clearance and charged into the circle, he put the ball into the foot of a defender for a short corner. He took on the on rushing defender from the corner and laid it left to David Zwier whose shot was saved by the keeper. In the resulting scramble, the ball made its way to Guttmann on the baseline who squared it to Watson at the left post for the sharp deflection into the goals.

With the score at 2-2 with ten minutes to go, Maccabi was looking dangerous with Alon Beder and Guttmann holding the ball well up forward. However, a break down the other end saw a TEM forward dribble his way into the circle past 3 Maccabi defenders before putting the ball in the bottom corner. With minutes left to chase the game, Maccabi attacked the circle through Watson, Kaye and Alon but could not fashion a clear equaliser chance.

 

Rd 18 28/8/2016: Maccabi 9 v 2 Powerhouse (D.Guttman 3, Lifson, Beder, Bloom, Hilton, Watson, Zwier)

Maccabi Hockey Club has stormed into the finals in the last round of the regular season with a 9-2 thrashing of Powerhouse/St Kilda at Albert Park. Knowing that a win would see it in the finals, Maccabi came out attacking strongly from the outset. Despite the warm weather creating a very slow and sticky field, the Maccabi passing game was in full flight finding players in space all over the field. A short corner was won early on, Lawrence Lifson taking on the onrushing player before firing a flick past the goalkeeper only to hit a Powerhouse foot on the line. Lifson stepped up to take the resulting penalty stroke but his tame effort was saved by the Powerhouse goalkeeper. Maccabi won another corner soon after and this time the ball found the back of the net, Lifson scoring after a sharp one-two with David Zwier. A lapse in concentration at the back was saved by Ethan Faifer with a fine reflex stop, but he could do nothing as Powerhouse equalised moments later from another counter attack.

Maccabi restored its lead soon after through its strongest short corner combination, a lay-off left to Kyles Hilton which he put away with consummate ease. The team was in full control now, the forward line and insides putting immense pressure on Powerhouse, locking the ball up forward. The next chance fell to Daniel Guttmann, but his backstick tomahawk flew just wide of the top corner after Alon Beder picked off a Powerhouse clearance. Beder then doubled Maccabi’s lead when he turned and shot following a terrific through ball by Ben Kaye.

Maccabi began the second half knowing that it needed further goals to put the game to bed. Strong build up play by young gun Phil de Carvalho Koch, who has been a goal scoring threat all season, and Mark Bloom time and again opened up space for Maccabi down the right wing. Another short corner won by Jarred Grek coming to the circle saw Hilton’s shot hit the foot of a Powerhouse defender on the line. Bryce Watson then scored the rebound before the umpire had the opportunity to blow for a penalty stroke. Bloom and Grek were rampant on the right wing, each of them flashing a shot across the goalkeeper but wide of the far post. The forward line was making acres of space and was being fed by Watson and Hilton through the middle, and Jeremy Robin from left half. Guttmann added his first of the game when he got a feather touch onto Orren Chabat’s long ball forward before scoring another with a backstick shot.

Bloom also got on the board with his first of the season, reward for his hard running throughout the match. Guttmann made it eight before Powerhouse scored a consolation goal from a short corner with two minutes to go. That wasn’t the end of the scoring, however, as a Maccabi counter attack that started in its own circle eventually found Alon running into the circle on his own. He squared it past the Powerhouse keeper to Zwier who tried an audacious through the leg shot as the ball was played slightly behind him. Somehow he managed to keep it away from his feet and the ball went over the line for one of the most spectacular goals of the season. The win sees Maccabi in good form heading into a knockout finals clash against old nemesis TEM.

Final Ladder after Rd 18

Grand Final: TEM Red 4 v 5 TEM Blue

#	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Old Melburnians	16	11	1	4	66	24	42	34
2	TEM Red	16	11	1	4	60	25	35	34
3	TEM Blue	16	10	1	5	53	26	27	31
4	Maccabi	16	8	4	4	49	30	19	28
5	MHSOB	16	8	3	5	52	30	22	27
6	Hawthorn	16	8	2	6	42	34	8	26
7	Powerhouse	16	4	2	10	30	64	-34	14
8	MCC	16	3	0	13	20	64	-44	9
9	Footscray	16	2	0	14	28	103	-75	6

 

Rd 17 21/8/2016: Hawthorn 1 v 4 Maccabi (D.Guttman 2, Lifson, Watson)

Maccabi Hockey Club has kept its finals hope alive with a strong 4-1 win over fourth placed Hawthorn on Sunday. After three straight losses saw it fall out of the top 4, Maccabi went into the game knowing that only a win can keep its season alive. The team produced its best performance in many weeks as it controlled possession and territory to frustrate the Hawthorn side. In the opening minutes, Maccabi played the ball around its backline, switching the ball from left to right as it tried to create gaps in the Hawthorn defence. Daniel Guttmann won Maccabi’s first short corner as his backstick shot hit the foot of the Hawthorn defender. Lawrence Lifson stepped up and whacked the ball into the bottom corner to give Maccabi the lead. From the next short corner, Lifson’s pass to the right post was underhit, giving David Zwier no chance of turning it in.

Hawthorn started working its way into the game, and it took an inspirational last ditch tackle from young gun Phil de Carvalho Koch to prevent Hawthorn getting a clear shot away in the circle. Hawthorn equalised soon after from a short corner, Ethan Faifer’s save rebounding into Bryce Watson before the Hawthorn striker tucked away the loose ball. Hawthorn was on top and Maccabi was indebted to strong defending from Jeremy Robin, Ben Kaye and Orren Chabat preventing Hawthorn from any goal scoring opportunities. Maccabi got on top again in midfield through Watson and Mark Bloom but few clear goal scoring opportunities were forthcoming.

In the second half, Maccabi again aimed to dominate possession and the plan soon paid off. A short corner was laid to the left for Alon Beder to shoot. His shot was saved but Guttmann was on hand to put in the rebound from a tight angle. The forward line of Beder, Zwier and Jarrad Grek was giving Hawthorn trouble with its powerful running and neat interplay. Zwier carried the ball into the circle but his shot was saved by the sliding Hawthorn keeper. At the other end, a rare Hawthorn attack almost resulted in a goal, Faifer doing just enough to push the Hawthorn forward wide of the goals so that his shot hit the sideboard.

Maccabi then went further ahead. Strong build up play from Bloom and de Carvalho Koch ended up with Guttmann on the right wing, 25 yards out. His hard hit to the top of the circle deflected up off a Hawthorn stick. In a swift reflex action, Lifson brought the ball down from head height on his backstick side, before laying it off to Zwier in the circle. Zwier found Watson on the left post and Watson did the rest, putting the ball through the keeper’s legs and into the goals.

As Hawthorn looked to get back in the game, Maccabi took advantage of the space in behind Hawthorn’s defence. Beder used his pace to push the ball past his opposing half and ran onto it with the field open in front of him. He crossed the ball to the stick of Guttmann, but Guttmann’s deflection was saved miraculously by the stick of the Hawthorn goalkeeper. The next turnover created by Kaye with a strong defensive tackle saw the ball moved from the left side to the right as marauding full back Chabat found himself with it in space on the right wing. Guttmann took full advantage of Chabat’s cross into the circle, diving at the ball to deflect it into the bottom left corner for one of Maccabi’s best goals of the year. 4-1 was how it finished, Maccabi still needing to win its final game against Powerhouse to cement its spot in the finals.

 

Rd 16 14/8/2016: Bye

The team has two must-win games remaining if it is to make finals.

 

Rd 15 7/8/2016: Maccabi 0 v 2 TEM Red

The firsts had their 3rd straight loss in a row after needing to get a win to keep their finals hopes alive.

The game started fast as both teams tried to find their feet. Maccabi had 2 on the bench. Our captain Lawrence Lifson was away for the week.

Tems went 1-0 up. Maccabi fought hard to get back in the game. But Tems wanted the ball a bit more than Maccabi.

In the second half Maccabi started to play good attacking hockey, moving the ball well and it created shots on goal, unfortunately after a lapse in concentration Tems scored another one.

Maccabi went down 2-0

 

Rd 14 31/7/2016: MCC 2 v 1 Maccabi (Hilton)

Maccabi suffered a very disappointing 2-1 loss against lowly MCC in a game that puts its finals chances on a knife edge. The second loss in a row came about as the team was unable to put together any cohesive moves in and around the opposition circle as attacks continually broke down due to poor passing and running the ball straight into the opposition sticks. Maccabi missed its first two penalty corners of the game, both going past the right post without any stick getting onto it. MCC then took the lead as it converted its only short corner for the game.

Maccabi could not keep enough pressure on up forward to look the ball in attack, and went into the break trailing 1-0. The team came out more positively in the second half as Alon Beder and Kyles Hilton saw a lot of the ball with Maccabi moving the ball well down the right wing however it could still not create clear openings in front of goal. Another short corner shot from Marc Aarons was cleared off the line before Lawrence Lifson’s back stick tomahawk shot got past the keeper but was again saved on the line by an MCC stick. Hilton finally scored the equaliser from a short corner variation that was laid off to the left.

Maccabi then switched off and allowed MCC to regain the lead with a scrappy ball in the circle somehow getting through Ethan Faifer before being prodded over the line. Maccabi wasn’t able to create any further opportunities as MCC held on for the win.

 

Rd 13 24/7/16: Maccabi 0 v 6 Old Melburnians

Maccabi Hockey Club put in its worst performance of the year in going down 6-0 to second placed Old Melburnians on Sunday. It was an uncharacteristically poor performance for Maccabi who were sloppy in position and slow in transitioning to defence. Lawrence Lifson missed the game’s first opportunity when he put a sharp chance just wide of the near post. A wasted short corner soon after, which was won by Reuben Grunfeld on his senior debut, was as good as Maccabi managed to generate for the rest of the first half. As the half went on, misplaced passes coming out of defense kept allowing Old Melburnians to attack the Maccabi circle, where Ben Kaye, Orren Chabat and Ethan Faifer were unable to keep the opposition out the whole time. Despite some good saves from Faifer, Old Melburnians scored two goals, the first from open play and the second from a mishit short corner.

Going into the second half, Maccabi knew it needed to move the ball earlier and play with greater intensity. However, after it conceded a third goal ten minutes into the half, only a late chance for Mark Bloom threatened to get Maccabi back into the game. Otherwise, it was one-way traffic as Maccabi continued to turn the ball over, and Old Melburnians put three more on the board.

 

Rd 12 17/7/16: TEM Blue 1 v 3 Maccabi (Grek, Lifson, Aarons)

Maccabi Hockey Club has moved to the top of the ladder with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over second place Toorak-East Malvern on Sunday at Hawthorn. Maccabi went into the game looking to use its pace to move the ball around the experienced TEM backline and the plan paid off with an early backstick shot from Bryce Watson Just missing the near post. Soon after, a short corner was won by Alon Beder but Lawrence Lifson’s resulting shot was deflected toward the top corner only for the TEM goalkeeper to save the ball with an outstretched hand. TEM soon took the lead against the run of play as a counter attack got through the Maccabi defence for the TEM striker to tap the ball in while unmarked on the penalty spot.

This spurred Maccabi on to apply more pressure. Great hassling from the Maccabi forward line forced a turnover that Beder eventually got on the end of to win another short corner. Lifson made no mistake with the shot this time, a well struck ball again deflecting off a TEM stick but this time ending up in the roof of the net to draw Maccabi level. A driving run from Kyles Hilton ended with a quality ball across the goal but no Maccabi forwards were able to get on the end of it while a similar run and cross from Ben Kaye also yielded no result. Going into the second half Maccabi knew that if it could just show more hunger in the circle it could score the goals needed to win the game.

The second half started very evenly with the ball flowing from end to end, although very few major opportunities were generated. Strong work defensively from Jeremy Robin and Mark Bloom stopped the dangerous TEM wingers from having any impact, while Kaye and Marc Aarons controlled the game from full back. When TEM did get through the defence, Ethan Faifer came out of goals strongly to save the shot and then whip the ball away. Maccabi’s first real chance fell to Beder from a narrow angle. When the TEM goalkeeper went down to save the first shot, Beder lifted the rebound over the keeper with a deft flick of the wrists for Jarred Grek to swipe the ball past the last defender on the goal line and give Maccabi the lead. The lead was doubled shortly after when Aarons smashed a short corner shot into the bottom left corner.

David Zwier, in his first game for three weeks, then picked the pocket of a TEM defender but he wasn’t able to manufacture a scoring opportunity. A fast break from Maccabi soon after saw Lifson release Beder with a through ball from halfway. With the TEM backline trailing behind, Beder took the ball into the circle and around the keeper but could only get the side netting from a tight angle. Maccabi saw out the rest of the game comfortably for the victory. Next week sees Maccabi take on Old Melbournians, who trail Maccabi at the top of the ladder on goals scored, in what promises to be a pivotal game in the run-in to the end of the season.

 

Rd 11 10/7/16: Maccabi 4 v 0 Footscray (P.Tremigliozzi, D.Guttman, Lifson, Beder)

Maccabi Hockey Club has strengthened its position inside the top 4 with a comfortable 4-0 victory over lowly Footscray at the State Hockey Centre on Sunday. Playing against the only team to defeat it so far this season, Maccabi had a point to prove and came out breathing fire, generating a series of early short corners. The Footscray goalkeeper was a match for everything Maccabi tried, saving two shots from Lawrence Lifson and another from Daniel Guttmann. Sharp build up play down the right between Mark Bloom and Jarred Grek created an opportunity in the circle for Alon Beder, but again the Footscray keeper was out sharply to block. In defence, Phil de Carvalho Kock managed to deflect a goalbound Footscray effort away from the goals, while Ethan Faifer saved at his near post from another Footscray counter attack. These chances were all Footscray could muster as Maccabi dominated possession and territory. Finally, the pressure exerted by Maccabi manifested itself on the scoreboard. More good work by Grek down the right led to a Guttmann shot that was saved by the keeper, however Paul Tremigliozzi tenaciously tucked in the rebound at the second attempt. Guttmann then doubled the lead soon after as quick interplay down the middle with Lifson and Bryce Watson saw him drive into the circle and put his shot into the bottom corner.

The second half saw Maccabi more on the back foot, and it was indebted to Orren Chabat and Ben Kaye in defence to keep Footscray out. Their strong tackling and sharp reading of the game meant that despite holding good territory, Footscray could not create any clear goal scoring opportunities in the circle. When Maccabi shortened its passing and moved down the right, it began to again get on top. Tremigliozzi gave tremendous drive from the right wing and also put in clean tackles defensively in a strong performance. Maccabi’s third goal came from a short corner, Guttmann’s layoff to the right allowing Lifson to slot home past the keeper. Further short corners were wasted until Beder flicked the ball into the net from the left post to round out the scoring for Maccabi. Although it wasn’t Maccabi’s best performance of the season, it did more than enough to be deserved winners of the game, and set itself up to attack the back end of the season.

 

Rd 10 26/6/2016: MHSOB 0 v 4 Maccabi (Beder 2, Lifson, Hilton)

Maccabi Hockey Club put in one of its best performances of the season on Sunday, thrashing table topping Melbourne High School Old Boys 4-0. With 2 goals in each half, it was a very consistent performance from Maccabi as defensive pressure and smart ball movement throughout stifled the MHSOB team. An early chance fell for Bryce Watson, but his attempted tomahawk from near the top of the circle was blocked. Maccabi took the lead shortly after as a quick long ball from Lawrence Lifson to David Treger made its way to Alon Beder. Beder took the ball on the 25, beat a defender and then with his next touch in the circle put the ball into the back of the net.

Another backstick shot from Watson looped its way towards goal before an MHSOB defender got back to clear it off the line. Lifson soon doubled the lead from an identical situation, his tomahawk shot hitting the back of the net. Paul Tremigliozzi, playing in an unfamiliar right wing position, almost got the end of a Lifson through ball minutes later, but the half drew to a close with Maccabi two goals to the good.

The second half saw more one way traffic, with Phil de Carvalho Koch and Hilton combining effectively down the right wing to generate circle penetrations. One such occasion saw the ball find Beder in the circle, and his composed finish wrong footed the keeper, nestling in the bottom right corner. At the other end, Maccabi allowed MHSOB a bit more freedom, but Ethan Faifer, Orren Chabat and Ben Kaye held firm in defence.

Kaye’s driving run out of the backline led to another short corner opportunity. A layoff to the left to Kyles Hilton led to a clean slap into the goals for Maccabi’s fourth. The win puts Maccabi back into the top 4 ahead of a week off.

 

Rd 9 19/6/2016: Powerhouse 3 v 3 Maccabi (D.Guttman, Beder, Grek)

Maccabi Hockey Club has frustratingly played out a 3-3 draw with lowly Powerhouse/St Kilda to slip out of the top 4. Despite taking the lead three times, Maccabi kept getting pegged back and was never able to put the space on the scoreboard that it needed to get the win. Maccabi wasn’t able to make the blistering start of previous weeks as its skill execution let it down, missed traps and misplaced passes meant it wasn’t able to smoothly transition into the circle. Daniel Guttmann did score an early goal as the ball fortunately deflected through to him in the circle for him to put away. Maccabi then switched off in defence to allow Powerhouse to score a soft equaliser, before Maccabi started to get its game flowing better down the right wing to create circle penetrations. Jarred Grek put Maccabi ahead once more with a sharp deflection at the right post but Maccabi again couldn’t hold onto the lead, going into half time 2-2.

The second half saw Maccabi control the ball, switching the ball across the field to open up space and create chances. One such chance saw Lawrence Lifson lay the ball off to Kyles Hilton inside the circle. Hilton saw Alon Beder free at the left post and got the ball to him for Beder to lift it over the keeper from a tight angle. A wasted short corner opportunity prevented Maccabi from extending its lead while a desperate clearance off the line by Phil de Carvalho Koch saved Maccabi’s lead. However, Maccabi’s lead was wiped away from the resulting short corner as a direct hit from the top of the circle went straight past Ethan Faifer in the Maccabi goal. Maccabi’s last chance to win the game was a deflection by Guttmann from a long Marc Aarons pass but the ball went agonisingly wide.

 

Rd 8 5/6/2016: Maccabi 6 v 2 Hawthorn (D.Guttman 4, Zwier, Watson)

Maccabi Hockey Club has recorded a comprehensive 6-2 victory over Hawthorn to return it to the top 4 and put it on track to play finals. After two games without a win, Maccabi needed a strong performance to get its season back on track and it got exactly that with a dominant first half. With the game only 5 minutes old, Lawrence Lifson released Jarred Grek down the right wing with a precise through ball. Grek took the ball into the circle and squared it to Daniel Guttmann who turned it in from the penalty spot. The trick was repeated minutes later with Guttmann scoring his second from an almost identical position. Bryce Watson got on the scoreboard shortly after with a deft deflection through his legs off a Dave Birnbaum short corner before David Zwier made it four when he got a slight touch on Lifson’s short corner flick. Zwier then closed down and dispossessed his opposing half before bringing the ball into the circle for Guttmann to complete his hattrick. Guttman’s fourth goal followed shortly after as more good play down Maccabi’s right hand side led to an easy finish in front of goal. Maccabi missed a couple of other solid chances at the left post but went into half time with a commanding 6-0 lead.

The second half saw Maccabi tire as it couldn’t keep up the relentless pressure on the opposition, and despite Guttmann hitting two shots straight at the keeper, it couldn’t add to its tally. At the other end, Hawthorn found enough space to slot two consolation goals.

 

Rd 7 29/5/2016: Bye

 

Rd 2 25/5/2016: Footscray 8 v 2 Maccabi (Zwier, D.Guttman)

Maccabi 1sts received its first loss for season going down 8-2 to Footscray in a round 2 make up game on Wednesday night. In cold, wet and windy conditions, a good start by Maccabi had them getting forward with ease, despite missing a few senior players. A quick lapse of concentration from Maccabi found themselves 3-0 down going into the second half.

In the second half Maccabi started the same way they did in the first half with good attack up forward but couldn’t take their chances, despite plenty of short corners. Another lapse in concentration saw Footscray slot 3 more home.

Maccabi then moved forward again and a ball was played into the circle from Dan Guttman for a great deflection by David Zwier to slot the ball in. Footscray then moved forward again and slotted 2 more home. Ethan Faifer was good in goals but didn’t have much help from his team mates. Dan Guttman put a goal in to make it 2 for Maccabi.

Needless to say Marc Aarons wasn’t a happy coach at the end of game but it’s still a long season and we have high hopes for the rest

 

Rd 6 22/5/2016: TEM Red 0 v 0 Maccabi

In a hard fought game the Maccabi team created chances but was unable to convert its opportunities. The team however remains unbeaten for the season

 

Rd 5 15/5/2016: Maccabi 8 v 0 MCC (Beder 3, Zwier 2, Watson 2, D.Guttman)

Maccabi Hockey Club has made it two wins on the trot with an 8-0 thrashing of MCC at Albert Park on Sunday. The win for Maccabi was made more emphatic with five goals in the last fifteen minutes which was exactly what Maccabi deserved for its dominant performance. Alon Beder went close in the first minute of the game, but it took ten minutes for Maccabi to score its first goal. A wonderful team move starting with Lawrence Lifson and Kyles Hilton got the ball to Daniel Guttman on the baseline. Guttman squared it up to an unmarked Bryce Watson on the spot to put it past the keeper. Maccabi then wasted several short corners before it got its second on the board thanks to Beder’s first goal for the club, putting the ball in from close range after the MCC keeper saved an initial shot from Jarred Grek.

David Zwier scored his first goal for the club early in the second half, showing good awareness to pounce on another loose ball in the circle. Although Maccabi was on top, it was not creating scoring opportunities with as much ease as its dominance of possession suggested it should. That changed as the game went into the last fifteen minutes and Maccabi’s superior fitness began to show. Moves starting from defence, sweeping down the whole field yielded four more goals (two more for Beder to complete his hattrick, a second for Zwier and one for Guttman), and a last minute short corner deflection from Watson.

 

Rd 4 8/5/2016: Old Melburnians 1 v 3 Maccabi (D.Guttman, Hilton, Lifson)

Maccabi Hockey Club got its first win on the board for season 2016, beating last season’s premiers Old Melburnians 3-1 in a late game on Sunday. Under lights at Footscray, the faster and hungrier Maccabi team made all the running and never allowed its opponents to settle as it cruised to victory. The first goal was scored in the opening minutes before Old Melburnians were able to touch the ball. A patient build-up from the back was rewarded when Alon Beder ran into the circle and laid the ball off to Daniel Guttman who put it in the back of the net. Great counterattacking play from Maccabi went unrewarded several more times in the half as linkup play through the middle between Bryce Watson, Kyles Hilton and David Zwier cut Old Melburnians to shreds. At the other end Ethan Faifer made a good save to keep out a rare short corner.

In the second half, Maccabi again looked to control the game, although it lacked its free flowing style of the first half. Orren Chabat made a great tackle when he was left against two Old Melburnian forwards to keep Maccabi in the lead. That lead was doubled soon after as David Zwier blocked a hit coming out of the Old Melburnian backline into the path of Guttman. Guttman took it into the circle where it eventually found its way to Hilton who scored. It was soon 3-0 when Lawrence Lifson and Marc Aarons exchanged passes at the edge of the circle for Lifson to flick it low and hard into the bottom corner. Maccabi had further opportunities to extend its lead that it didn’t capitalise on, and it conceded a consolation goal in the last minute of the game. All in all, a great way to get the season heading in the right direction, the team is now undefeated and looking to continue its upwards trajectory.

 

Rd 3 1/5/2016: Maccabi 0 v 0 TEM Blue

Maccabi Hockey Club has played out a hard fought 0-0 draw with table topping TEMs, the team that defeated them in last year’s semi-final. It was a very good point for Maccabi, although it leaves it without a victory in the first two games. Playing against a team with more experience, the young Maccabi side worked hard without the ball to stretch the TEM defence and generated several short corner opportunities through strong dribbling and linkup play between forwards Alon Beder, Jarred Grek and Bryce Watson. At the other end, Maccabi was well served by Orren Chabat and Ben Kaye in defence, while Ethan Faifer pulled off several saves to keep Maccabi in the game.

 

Rd 1 17/4/2016: Maccabi 2 v 2 MHSOB (Hilton, Watson)

The firsts snatched a draw against MHSOB with a late goal in a game of two halves. Maccabi dominated the first half but could only score once thanks to Kyles Hilton, although it conceded a goal to a rare MHSOB attack. In the second half, Maccabi was camped in its backline and fell behind. A late short corner yielded the equaliser to Bryce Watson who turned the ball in following a goalmouth scramble. With three debutants, the team will look to gel and improve its cohesion across the board as the season progresses. Well done to Alon Beder, Jarred Grek and David Zwier on their club debuts.