THE Lower South East hockey Division 1 men’s competition will crown a new premiership this weekend after Tigers’ tilt at five in a row was extinguished by West in a penalty shoot out in the semi-final.
Tigers had a goal controversially disallowed in the second quarter, but when Brady Cooper made the most of a defensive error by West and scored in the third quarter it looked on track for reigning premiers.
Yellow cards were flowing as players tired and tackles became more desperate, with Tigers’ Connor Grant and West’s Chris Callis receiving two cards for their indiscretions.
West kept pressing and with two minutes remaining converted a short corner to put the game into extra time.
Both sides played cautiously in golden goal extra time and without a goal it was down to one-on-ones for a second week in a row to see who would face Strikers in the grand final.
After the allotted five penalties both sides were locked at two goals a piece and golden goal came into effect.
Tigers’ Lochie Nisbet hit the post on his attempt, which left David Vine the hero for West, as he converted easily to send his side through.
Division 2 men also went to a penalty shoot out, with Cavaliers and Tigers Yellow locked at one-all after regulation time.
Both goalies dominated the strikers in the shoot out, with Tigers youngster BJ Howard only allowing two of five attempts to score.
However, he was bettered by Cavaliers who only allowed the one goal by Tom Howard to take the win 2-1.
Division 3 men was won by Redbacks, whose solitary goal was enough to move past West and give them another shot at Tigers in the grand final on Friday night.
In the Under 15 boys, West defeated Tigers 1-0 to book their way into a grand final against Redbacks/Cavs.
The Under 12 boys also went down to the wire, as Strikers scored the winning goal in the last two minutes to take the win 2-1 over Redbacks and book a grand final berth against Tigers.
Division 1 women provided an epic battle between two closely-matched sides in Tigers and West.
The first half was scoreless with an enthralling battle between midfield stars, West’s Sarah Mutch and Tigers’ Olivia Turner.
Dana Jones provided spark for West up forward and created chances for her team, but was held well by sister Billie Jones who has been a rock for Tigers all year at fullback.
It was not until the third quarter that West broke the deadlock when Gemma Ballantyne converted a short corner.
Tigers did not give up but West held firm in defence and used its vast experience to wind down the clock and secure the win.
In the Division 2 women, West was close to its best to score two early goals against Naracoorte, who just could not find the back of the net.
West will look to carry that form into the grand final against Tigers, who will go in favourites to defend their title after another strong season.
In the Division 3 women, West looked strong early and scored first against minor premiers Tigers.
Tigers however found their groove in the second quarter and two quick goals calmed the nerves and allowed them to play their style of game.
Hayley Crowe starred with all five goals in the 5-1 victory.
In the Under 15’s girls Tigers played their best match of their season to cause an upset and defeat Redbacks 2-0.
In a high-quality junior match, Tigers scored early and from their looked to hold on, until Clare Hopgood and Laura Doll combined for a brilliant second goal to Tigers, which calmed their nerves and helped them run out the game without conceding.
In the Under 12 girls, West defeated Redbacks 1-0 and will look to try and inflict the first defeat of the season for Strikers in the grand final.
