A double to man-of-the-match Matthew Brown helped the Maitland Rams to a 6-2 thrashing of University on Sunday.
The Rams’ attack clicked in the second half at Maitland Hockey Centre as they put four goals past the Students to move into third spot on the Hunter Coast Premier League.
As well as Brown’s brace, Peter Urquhart, Tobin Bush, Dylan Cox and Dillon Macintosh all found the back of the net as the Rams turned a 2-1 half-time lead into a 6-2 demolition.
But the Rams had to come from behind to grab full points and were on the back foot early when University nabbed the first goal.
Rams coach Nathan Baker said University pounced on a rare Maitland defensive error.
“There was a bit of a mishap in the circle, one of our guys deflected it up and it hit (goalkeeper) Hugh (Lightbody) in the chest and went up into the air,” he said.
“Hugh wasn’t sure where it went and when it came down it fell right into the path of a Uni player who knocked it in.
“It was a bit of a lucky one and they didn’t really deserve it.”
From there the crisp passing of the Rams took over and they created
several chances with the Urquhart brothers, Peter and Ben, causing havoc, while Brown was always dangerous while in possession.
“Everybody played well – there was no bad player out there,” Baker said.
“We showed great teamwork and really finished well, which is something we’ve lacked in recent weeks.”
The win was the second biggest of the Rams’ season after they put eight past The Students in round two.
“In both games it’s been tight until half-time and then we’ve come out and rolled them,” Baker said.
“Personally I thought they played great on Sunday, they were all over us in the first half and dominated possession.”
The Rams meet Souths after the long weekend break, with a win meaning they would move three points clear of the fourth-placed team.
COURTESY MAITLAND MERCURY
COURTESY OF CENTRAL COAST EXPRESS ADVOCATE
The 2010 HockeyNSW Open Mens State Titles get underway June 12 at Liverpool City Hockey Complex, Moorebank.
Round 11 saw the new draw come out. Game one saw Central and Regals play for the second week in a row. Regals blow Central away last week in the last eight minutes and won 4 nil. This week Central and Regals come out with their guns blazing. Central took scored first from a penalty corner only to have Regals hit but shortly after and equalise it at one all. Both teams were playing exceptionally well and after last week’s performance Central really looked comfortable as they had players return from injury. Central took advantage of some slack marking and took the lead to two – one. Once again this did not sit well with the league leaders and replied and levelled the game at two all. Regals were missing Jamie from the centre with illness and Sarah from the backs with an injured shoulder. Mel Greer took the centre role and played a good passing game. Kiarni Lowe seems lost as she is moved back and forth filling the gaps, one week she is up front the next she is in the backs. At the break both teams seemed happy with their current form. However Centrals returning injured players Sophie Ray, Alex Wilson and Shelby Cocking seemed to be back on the bench once the second half commenced. This cost Central upfront as the younger less experienced players were left to fill big shoes. Regals defence was too good and lead to them taking a three – two lead. With the half counting down to the final ten Alex Wilson and Shelby Cocking made their returns to the field while one of the younger Central girls copped a elbow in the jaw and left the field to receive medical attention. As Central started to push hard to get a goal back the earned themselves many penalty corners but could not link their set plays to find the net. Regals finally scored a late goal and took the win Four – Two 
NEWCASTLE JUNIOR BOYS SCHOOL HOLIDAY COACHING CLINIC