KEW Hockey Club

Result: Kew 0 – PEGS 1

Kew came up against PEGs this week in a match that played out more like a Greek tragedy than a game of hockey.

We were missing a pair of star crossed lovers, but otherwise we had it all – a series of heroines and a classic struggle that would have kept the audience (had there been one) at the edge of their seats right through to the final, tragic fall of the curtain.

The theatre was Elgar Park and someone had forgotten to turn on the heating, but we soon warmed to the task. Our opposition’s position near the top of the ladder suggested we were going to have some tough competition on our hands, but the Kew girls were determined to continue the story of improvement that begin in the second half of last week’s game. The stage was set for an epic battle, and by interval we had explored every corner of the ground except for the two small rectangles between the goal posts.

The plot continued unchanged into the second half, until we seemed find ourselves playing out the same scene over and over again….ball enters from a Kew free (stage right), repossessed by the opposition, PEGS foul and back to Kew for another free. Unfortunately we were completely unable to convert any of these opportunities into a goal, and it was PEGS who finally broke the cycle taking us into the final tragic scene.

At nil all with only a minute to spare, the ball was whisked into our defensive circle. In a last, desperate struggle at the line, a Kew foot got between the ball and the goal and the whistle blew for a penalty shot. Then it blew again. Time up.

Cathie, wearing the goalie gear for only the second time, was in a most unenviable position as she faced the shot. The flick was a good one, and the ball made a decisive thud on the back board as the final curtain fell.

Tragedy has been described by someone far more scholarly than I as “stressing the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is generally undeserved with regard to its harshness.” Overall the Kew players put up one of their best efforts of the season so far in this match, and the result felt pretty tragic.