FOLLOWING UP on their Premier League win last year, Tropics Hockey Club claimed the 2006 Open League title at the Mona astro turf on Saturday.
After drawing 1-1 in an earlier match with St. Andrew, Tropics beat them 1-0 with a goal from Shareka Elliot in the lastminute of play. Both teams entered the finals tied on seven points.
In assessing the match, Ingrid Banton, senior player at Tropics told The Gleaner it was "a fairly competitive game. Based on endurance I think Tropics was able to get the better of St. Andrew in the last couple of minutes."
Although glad about the result, Banton commended St. Andrew for a game well played.
"I felt that the game in different spurts was dominated by either teams at different times. I believe Andrews had more penalty corners than Tropics," she said.
TEAM MANAGER BELIEF
Andrea Stephenson, team manager of St. Andrews, believes the match was theirs for the taking.
"I thought the team played very well and was very unfortunate to have lost. The score is not a true reflection of the match, as St. Andrew dominated both the first and second halves."
Stephenson admitted, however, that her team got many goal chances but failed to score. Still, she feels they benefitted greatly from the competition.
"We have seen the emergence of some of our younger players who had the opportunity to play alongside senior members. It was good for the development of the club, it puts the club in good stead for the future."
With a mixture of young and senior players, and some past national players, Banton also believes the Open League was a good experience for her team as they concentrated on training and developing the skills of the younger players.
In the runner-up match, Sharpes secured third place by defeating Raiders 3-0.
Meanwhile, action continued in the men's premier league with two matches.
In the opening games Raiders United outclassed Sharpes 5-0 with two goals each from Leonardo Camejo and Garcia Kelly and one from Johan Williams, while Circus Circle and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) played to a goalless draw.
