In a massive upset over the dominant NSW and WA state teams, Hockey ACT’s U21 Men’s team have come home victorious with a gold medal win against WA at the 2023 Hockey Australia Indoor Championships in Brisbane.
Hitting off at Brisbane’s Exhibition Centre on 3 January, the 2023 Hockey Australia Indoor Championships are the first to take place since January 2020. The Open divisions were first off the mark, setting an exciting tone for the return of national level indoor hockey in Australia.
Both the Open ACT Men’s and Women’s teams did well with 2nd and 5th placements respectively. But the competition really started to heat up when the U21 Men’s team hit the field.
With a slow start in the early rounds, the U21 ACT men’s team fell to both WA (4-1) and NSW State (6-3), and tied with QLD (3-3). By the fourth round, ACT came into their stride with wins over VIC (8-5) and NSW Blue (7-6), securing a spot in the semi-finals, where they took an exciting shootout win over QLD (3-3(2-0 SO)). With WA already guaranteed a spot in the grand final with their own shootout win over the NSW State team (3-3(4-3 SO)), ACT were prepared for the fight ahead.
In front of a full stadium of fellow players, on the afternoon of 11 January, the grand final atmosphere was electric. Only five minutes after the whistle was blown, WA looked to be taking hold in a similar fashion to their first-round clash, with a goal by Thomas Keating early on.
However, ACT quickly fired back with a goal by Fin Heygi from a penalty corner, tying the score at 1-1 within the first 10 minutes.
The second quarter was quiet in the goal mouth with both teams scoreless.
Well rested from the half-time break, ACT finally broke the drought with a field goal from Mathew Young mid-way through the third quarter, giving ACT the lead for the first time in the match. With goals by Zac McGregor and Fin Hegyi again late in the fourth quarter, Hockey ACT secured the win in a dominant fashion over WA, reversing the round one score 4-1.
With the last win for ACT back in 2018, the U21 ACT Men’s team have given further proof as to why Hockey ACT is a dominant force in indoor hockey, and how the nation’s capital fosters great talent at all ages.
The 2023 Hockey Australia Indoor Championships will continue to play through until 25 January; with the U18s, U13s and U15s all vying to make history and bring home the win.
All matches are available to watch live via livehockey.com.au (with subscription) and results available at hockeyaustralia.altiusrt.com/competitions.
