LGSHA fall short after grand final defeat in division one of CBH Group Women’s Country Championships

Lower Great Southern Hockey Association have fallen just short of more title glory, going down to Bunbury in the division one grand final at the CBH Group Women’s Country Championships in Perth on Sunday.

LGSHA won four out of their five qualifying matches and despite Tessa Wood’s equalising goal in the grand final, the division one squad had to settle for second place as Bunbury prevailed 2-1 in the decider.

The squad kicked off their competition in brilliant fashion by defeating Busselton 2-1 on Friday and then edged past Geraldton 1-0 later in the day.

On Saturday LGSHA lost 2-1 to Bunbury but bounced back with a 1-0 win over Upper Great Southern to finish second on the standings.

LGSHA met Bunbury again in the grand final with Bunbury hitting the front in the first half.

Wood responded with a terrific equalising goal to level scores but Bunbury responded five minutes later, scoring the second goal to hit the front again.

LGSHA had plenty of possession with senior players Beck Gallimore and Laura Archer driving their team forward throughout the contest.

Despite a number of penalty corner opportunities for the LGSHA side, they weren’t able to hit back with a goal late in the game with Bunbury winning 2-1.

Division one coach Darren Parkes said despite not winning the grand final, the team played with great enthusiasm across the tournament and were well led by a number of senior players.

“It was good to get to the grand final and the girls really showed promise throughout the weekend,” he said. “The things that we changed from the first game to the big dance was promising and good to see but we couldn’t bring it home unfortunately.

“In terms of the final, everyone played really well, some of the older girls really shined and kept the team together and helped the younger players.

“In the qualifying games the midfield was super strong but in the finals, everyone really chipped in and did their job.”

Parkes praised Bunbury’s well-drilled team and their ability to capitalise on their chances.

“It was a very close game, we had a lot of the play but they got two really well-structured goals,” he said. “They played the field and caught us off guard and then we couldn’t capitalise and put our chances in the back of the net.”