There was plenty to celebrate for the Gippsland Strikers over the past week with three wins.
Seniors
The West Gippsland Strikers secured a commanding 5-0 win over Melbourne Razorbacks in round six of the Vic League 3 season, marking Women's Round with a dominant performance in front of their home crowd.
From the first whistle at the Sunday home fixture, the Strikers set the tone with a structured and composed display, controlling possession and creating scoring opportunities.
Matt Zurrer opened the account with a clinical penalty stroke, sparking a strong first half that included two more goals via sharp deflections. The hosts went into the main break with a comfortable 3-0 lead.
The third quarter remained goalless despite solid build-up play, but the Strikers ramped up the intensity again in the final term.
Mark Robjant added his name to the scoresheet with a powerful short corner conversion, before Zurrer capped off the day with his fourth goal—finishing off a gutsy run and setup from Art Pozzebon.
At the other end, goalkeeper Ben Knight stood tall to secure a clean sheet, commanding the circle with confidence and making sure the Razorbacks had no way back into the game.
The emphatic result puts the Strikers back on the winners list at home and injects momentum ahead of their next fixture against Latrobe University. With the previous encounter ending in a thrilling 4-4 draw, the Strikers will be aiming to go one better and take all three points.
Goals: M Zurrer 4, M Robjant 1
Clean sheet: Ben Knight
Under 14s
Gippsland Strikers took on Werribee at a neutral venue at the Hawthorn Malvern Hockey Centre on Friday night.
They came away with yet another convincing win, this time 6-0. There was a good spread of goal scorers.
Goals: T Boltong 2, L Cutler 1, G Hazell 1, B Johnston 1, J Smorenburg 1
Masters
The Gippsland Strikers masters secured a solid 1-0 win against Greater Dandenong Warriors last Monday.
After arriving at the Dandenong ground, the Strikers players were all in great spirits. Anticipation was high for their clash with the Warriors.
Gippsland began well with great teamwork across the park—everyone was committed to the cause.
Rebecca McDonald even chased down a ball that was practically in the parking lot for a quick pass across goal but alas, no score.
Eventually, the Strikers earned a short corner, pushed out to Robin Wells, who struck it beautifully to the bottom left post. It was expertly deflected in by the ever-so-nimble Alana Tratford. One-nil to Gippsland.
At half time, the Strikers regrouped and received some wisdom from their coach Kara.
There was a short corner late for the Warriors in the last five minutes, but the Stikers held strong and kept them out.
A highlight was Nathan Furphy getting his mask stuck in the net. Classic.
Goals: A Tratford 1