Maccabi masterful in Vic hockey finals

MEN’S MASTERS HOCKEY

Maccabi Victoria Hockey Club’s over-45 men’s team won their first grand final in nine years on Monday night – thrashing Melbourne High School Old Boys 6-1 in the Division C East decider – while the Jewish club’s men’s Metro 2 East side have earned a spot in a grand final to be played this Sunday against Old Melburnians from 1pm at Hawthorn Malvern Hockey Centre.

Their masters team went into their grand final with a few players ruled out by injury, including captain Daniel Grunfeld, and they faced the only team they’d lost to all season.

But they were determined to earn their first trophy in almost a decade, and fuelled by that hunger, applied relentless pressure on their opponents from the first whistle through steely defence by David Birbbaum, Darren Krawitz, Gary Beville, Danny Westheimer and Harley Cohen.

A goal in the 10th minute to Damien Suss gave them another confidence boost, by half-time they led 3-0, and that scoring rate continued in the second half.

Wayne Levy scored a brace and other scorers were Rick Leventer, Darren Gorelick and Birnbaum.

The match day squad included Stephen Lewis, who is just shy of 70 years old.

Grunfeld said it was a real team effort all season, to top the ladder, and then win the decider.

“We’re all absolutely rapt, because it’s been nine years since we won a grand final – it even makes the pain of my busted achilles that bit easier to deal with!” Grunfeld said.

“What a year this is turning out to be for Maccabi hockey. Our women’s team reached the semis and our men’s metro side will be in a grand final this Sunday.”

MEN’S HOCKEY

Maccabi won its men’s Metro preliminary final 3-2 against Old East Malvern in a game that went down to the wire.

Maccabi’s Daniel Guttmann scored the first goal from a short corner and his side led 1-0 after two quarters.

Lior Middeldorf got Maccabi 2-0 up, but a lapse of concentration midway through the third quarter, not helped by an injury to a key defender, saw their opponent equalise with two quick goals.

Solid work in the midfield by Mark Bloom and Sam Tenne helped regain momentum for Maccabi in the last quarter, leading to attacking raids inside the D, and the winning goal scored by captain Lior Aufgang with six minutes remaining, slotted through off a centring pass by Tenne.

The team is coached this year by Troy Williamson and assisted by injured player Joseph Brasacchio.

Aufgang told The AJN, “We went into the grand final with a sense of calmness and far more measured, and that really helped us get off to a good start.

“The last five minutes felt like a long time, but we held on, and it feels amazing to now be preparing for a grand final. “This is a special, close-knit team, and a special club to play for.”