Hawks coach Ryan McKenzie can breathe a sigh of relief after his side returned to the winners’ circle with a 4-0 effort over third-placed Cootamundra.
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Henwood Park led from start to finish with goal-magnet Jake Ploenges acting as chief destroyer up front.
Ploenges snared a hat-trick at O’Connor Park to signal his return from injury while Carl Pideski added the Hawks’ fourth in a more polished performance from the defending premiers.
“We finally put it all together,” McKenzie said.
“I think the boys just realised we had to play for each other and not be focused on the individual efforts.”
Nathan Trinder played a fine game in goals to notch Henwood Park’s fourth clean sheet of the season but McKenzie was most impressed with his midfielders.
“The connections just started working for us … and we took our opportunities well,” McKenzie said.
“We’ve still got a few more challenging games ahead of us though and we’ve failed to build momentum so far, so we’re really looking to take this win and charge into the back end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Cootamundra were left to rue a free kick mishap that landed Brenton Forsyth on the sideline.
Forsyth was issued a red card after two accidental handballs from Henwood Park’s set piece and left Cootamundra with 10 men for the final 30 minutes.
A disappointed Strikers co-coach Brent Farnsworth nevertheless paid tribute to his side’s tenacity in a “tough game”.
“We had a few good chances in the first half but Henwood were more clinical up front than we were,” Farnsworth said.
“They scored some classy goals ... but the commitment and guts our guys showed out there with 10 men was unbelievable.”
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