Medway has beaten the odds to reach the final of Golf Victoria’s Colts pennants division 3.
The unfancied team from Maidstone survived a nervous final round of matches to set a date with undefeated minor premiers Heidelberg in the final at Patterson River Golf Club on Sunday.
Medway was beaten on the last match day, but teams vying for second place also slipped up, ensuring Medway moved through to the big one.
“They thought they had blown their chances, but other results fell their way,” Medway club manager Brett Scothern told Star Weekly.
Medway has been the surprise packet of the competition. It turned out with a bare minimum of five players after some departures from last year’s team and an injury to Angus Dynon.
Jack and Joe Mackenzie have filled in admirably but, at times, were forced to play against opponents as much as 10 years older.
Medway’s top five players, Will Ryan, Jordan Smith, Li Su, Sam Schepis and Liam Beattie, all rose to the occasion. Their efforts were enough to secure Medway’s automatic promotion to division 2 and the players will get to experience the thrill of a final.
“To see the kids have a good result was great,” Scothern said. “It was probably a little bit unexpected, but they’ve certainly had a great year and we’re really proud of them.
“They’ll play all year round in our competitions and practise pretty hard. They bonded as a team; they’ve just happened to click.”
The Medway team is under no illusions about the task confronting it on Sunday. The team finished three wins behind Heidelberg, which marched to a 7-0 record in the regular season.
“They’re playing the undefeated team and it will be tough,” Scothern said. “They’ll be the underdogs again, but they’ll give it a shot and hopefully they come through.”
