It was three times the heartache for Melton in the Hockey Victoria Vic League grand finals.
The Mustangs had three teams in grand finals at the weekend, the men’s senior and reserves vic league 3 teams and the women’s reserves in the vic league 2 division, with all three sides suffering the same fate.
Mustangs senior men’s coach Glenn Lawrence said it was a disappointing result to end what had been overall a good season.
The Mustangs lost to Old Melburnians, 2-1 on Sunday.
Lawrence said there wasn’t much that separated the two teams all day.
“We scored the first goal that we set up and looked like we were the dominant team. It wasn’t a lucky shot,” Lawrence said.
“The first five to seven minutes we were in control of the game.
“They then got a lucky call and got a corner, and scored from that. They then later got a another lucky call, and another corner, which they scored from.”
Lawrence said while Old Melburnians scored from two corners, it could have been a lot bigger scoreline.
“We defended the corners really well, we got just one corner for the game.
“To have only a 2-1 result was good and it came down to our defenders doing a good job.
“They were very good inside the circle, but it was very even across the field.
“Unfortunately the scoreline didn’t reflect that.”
Lawrence said experience may have also played a part in the match, with Old Melburnians playing in a lower division than previously. Despite the final result, Lawrence said he was happy with performances overall, throughout the season.
The Mustangs finished third on the ladder, five games behind Bayside and nine games behind Old Melburnians, but were able to match it with both sides come finals.
“To come up against the tops teams, and beat one of them and end up in the grand final, makes it a top season,” he said.
“Ideally, it would have been nice to win the grand final. It’s been a great season, so we can’t complain.”
The reserves side also had a disappointing grand final, losing to Old Melburnians 2-1.
“We were the top team going into the grand final, but there had been mixed results against this team,” Lawrence said.
“We played very nervous hockey, and didn’t get the result we were after, so it was disappointing.”
In the women’s reserves grand final, the Mustangs lost to Monash University, 1-0.
The last time the two teams met in the semi-finals, Monash University won 3-1.
