MATERA – The women’s hockey championship still belongs to Decom Roller Matera. After a heated and beautiful final, in a torrid and enthusiastic tensile structure in Via dei Sanniti, the skaters coached by Valerio Antezza prevailed over their historic rivals Valdagno with a score of 3-1. A more than deserved triumph based on what we saw throughout the season and in the final itself, but more painful than expected thanks to the verve and determination of the Venetians, always alive and in the game until the last second.
It was a very physical and rough match, between two teams who never held back and fought point after point. Decom immediately took control of the game, coming close to taking the lead on several occasions and breaking the deadlock after eleven minutes with Francesca Maniero. Valdagno’s attitude remained rather cautious, and the home team hit the woodwork (five hit in the first half), thus failing to close the score.
The result was an equally beautiful and tight recovery, with the guests trying to come out of their shell. Matera continued to attack, hitting two more posts and doubling the lead in the 7th minute with gold striker Rebecca Taccardi. Down by two goals, Davide Benetti’s girls poured into attack, first winning a penalty, masterfully saved with an open hand by Giorgia Meneghello, and finding the 1-2 with two minutes left from the end thanks to Laura Rubega, giving the Matera public a finale of suspense and palpitation. And after the Venetians’ last attempts, in the final seconds Taccardi once again netted the ball for safety and the Scudetto.
«It was a very tough final, but we know well that finals are never easy – commented Mr. Antezza -. Our opponents ran a lot and played very well in defense. For what we produced, this result is a little tight for us, we were slightly imprecise in the finalization phase, we hit too many woodwork when instead we should have closed it immediately. The hockey games are never over and we have dropped a bit, perhaps also due to a hint of tiredness. But the girls were good, they defended well, risking very little and taking home this well-deserved championship.”
A great season for the blue and whites, who won the “treble” for the second consecutive year and also celebrated the quarter-finals in the Champions League, a goal never achieved by any Italian team. «It was a beautiful and exciting season, which saw the girls protagonists on all fronts. We dominated the Italian Super Cup and the Italian Cup – Antezza recalls -, now triumphed in the championship and continued a path in the Champions League never achieved by an Italian team. And the gems were the draw with Gijon, who then won the Intercontinental Cup, and the victory in the first leg of the quarterfinals over Fraga, who then won the Champions League.” A jubilant audience and a virtual hug with the girls, who celebrated with the Scudetto Cup at the center of the track. «It was tough against a young team, but one that has grown a lot and is doing better and better – commented captain Pamela Lapolla -. Valdagno put us in great difficulty, but we achieved our goal and the emotion is great, especially when you sweat so much and give your all, like we did.”
Honor and applause also for the defeats, who left the track with a few tears, but also with their heads held high and aware of being up to the task. «We tried to organize the game defensively, and in the first half we managed to contain Taccardi well, who is a great scorer – explains mister Benetti -. Then with the first mistake we scored and from then on it became difficult. But we held the field well, I’m happy for this step, which represents a good step forward in our growth path.”
