Tara Murray
Hume walks away from the Hockey Victoria men’s metro north-west 1 pennant season proud despite a grand final loss on Saturday.
The Highlanders had their chances in the grand final against Footscray, but just weren’t able to find the back of the net.
A goal in the third period would be enough for Footscray to seal the title, 1-0.
Highlanders captain Sam Falkland said the game could have easily gone either way.
“It was really close and a really tough game,” he said. “In the end it wasn’t the result we were after.
“They went up 1-0 in the third period. We had a lot of chances in the fourth quarter as they went defensive.
“We hit the post and had a few other opportunities, we just couldn’t get it back.”
Falkland said to even make the grand final was a massive achievement for the side this season. He said they had been hit from pillar to post, but just kept on finding a way.
“The last two years have been tough,” he said. “With COVID, a lot of illness, a lot of injuries and people pulling out the day before the game.
“We had two broken wrists to two of our best players. Every week was a battle to get the numbers.
“We had players stepping up from our division 2 side and also players from our women’s side. We struggled to get our full side all out there together.”
Falkland said for a small club they continue to outperform some of the bigger teams. He said they all just supported each other.
“Whenever I asked someone to play, they just said yes,” he said. “ Everyone was there supporting us in the grand final.
“We’re a small club with a really big heart. After a challenging year, it was very rewarding to make a grand final.”
