Watch replay: Adelaide Uni women’s side notches Premier League hockey win, while men defeated

It was hard fought but Adelaide University’s women’s notched a ‘confidence building’ win against Grange. Re-watch double header here.

Adelaide University’s women’s says his side will take plenty of confidence out of its narrow Premier League hockey victory against Grange Royals on Sunday,

The match was hard fought with scores locked at 0-0 at half-time.

But Uni’s relentless attack finally got some reward early in the third quarter as Lauren Johnson hit the back of the net.

Adelaide University managed to hold onto the lead and prevailed 1-0 at Mate Stadium.

The match was live streamed on advertiser.com.au before the men’s game, which was also broadcast.

It forms part of The Advertiser and Messenger’s partnership with Hockey SA to live stream more matches this season in the coming weeks.

The broadcast follows that of the round one men’s and women’s double-header between Forestville and Port Adelaide last week.

We also live streamed the 2020 men’s and women’s Premier League grand finals, won by Seacliff and Port Adelaide respectively.

Adelaide University’s Blaine Otway (L) battles Grange’s Trinity Schmidt during their Hockey SA Premier League clash on Sunday. Picture: Matt Loxton

Gunn was pleased with his team’s performance after it lost 4-2 to reigning grand finalist Adelaide last week.

“For us it’s (about) that bit of confidence,” Gunn said.

“We’ve got a fairly young team so it’s good for them to notch that win and have a chance to sing the song after the game.

“Early points in the season make for a big deal.

“It’s much easier to be in a strong position on the ladder than be chasing points late in the season if it’s getting tight.”

Grange had plenty of opportunities to level the scores late in the final stanza and Gunn said it was pleasing to see his players withstand that pressure.

“They’ve got an exceptional goal keeper with Amy Hammond who did a really good job at keeping us out for a bit,” Gunn said.

“I think we were a little bit wasteful with a few chances ourselves but eventually the weight of numbers probably paid off.

“We put ourselves under a little bit of pressure at the end but the result came in the end, thankfully, probably a bit tighter than we would’ve liked.”

Adelaide University’s men’s side, however, went down 6-2 to Grange in the later match.

Adelaide University’s Hayley Kennedy in action against Grange in their Premier League women’s match on Sunday. Picture: Matt Loxton.

Uni netted the first goal of the game but the Royals equalised a few minutes later to level the scores at the first break.

Grange enjoyed a strong second quarter and went 2-1 ahead before scoring again early in the third period.

Uni went 3-2 behind before the Royals’ attack stepped up a gear, scoring three goals in the final quarter.

Midfielder Will Abbott netted two of Grange’s goals, while Lucas Williams, Jordan Chandler, Paxton Silby and Daniel Pena scored the others.

It was Grange’s men’s first victory of this season, having lost to North East 3-1 in last week’s opening round.

Coach Nathan Burgess said finding form, especially after working on a new game plan during the off-season, was important.

“We’ve got some very strong, established players but we’ve also got a good mix of young guys,” Burgess said.

“We are playing a very different structure and it’s just been taking a little bit of time to jell with the players and how to play that effectively.

“At the start of the game we were just a little bit out on some of the controls we put in place and then as the game progressed, we gradually slotted back into where players should be and we started getting the turnovers we were expecting.

“It was just a matter of patience and working with the players

There is a league-wide bye in the men’s and women’s competitions for the Easter break next weekend before action returns on April 10.

Grange’s Paxton Silby in action against Adelaide University in their Premier League en’s hockey clash on Sunday. The Royals beat Uni 6-2. Picture: Matt Loxton

SCOREBOARD

Women’s:

Adelaide University 1

Grange Royals 0

Men’s:

Grange Royals 6

Adelaide University 2