Last night saw the curtain come down on another close Masters competition with the early game a draw and the grand final decided in the last minute of that game.
Buccs and Flat Dogs played an entertaining match to end their season which saw both teams nearing full strength and highlighted how close the competition had been during the year. Buccs opened the scoring when Chris Pitman was on hand to score from close range before Tim Ward scored in his thrid game in a row. Flat Dogs responded before half time when Josh Harris was on hand to score. The second half was a midfield battle before Flat Dogs equalised and that was how the score remainded for the rest of the game.
The Grand Final saw South Park in their first GF since 2019 as they took on the 2023 Premiers Blues Bros.They had been the two most consistant teams with player numbers for the season and challenged each other for the full 60 minutes. After a slow start South Park opened the scoring when Ryan Knowles hammered home a goal from the top of the circle that gave Blues keeper James Winn no chance. They held the lead until mid way through the second half when Scott Foreman scored from one of only a few penalty corners for the match for either team. The match then opened up with both teams going in search of the winner with midfield runs from both teams being cancelled out by each other. As the clock ran down and it looked like a shared Premiership, South Park had one last attack down the left side of the field and the cross found Matt Beveridge in front of goal and his shot was lifter over the diving Blues keeper into the net with just over 40 seconds left. Blues had one final attack and reached the circle but South Park defence held strong and cleared the ball as the final siren sounded. In the end a fitting result as South Park were also minor premiers by 6 points.
A big thank you to Emma Cairduff and Ruby Chilton who umpired during the year & Sonya Scott (at short notice) for stepping in to umpire last night along with Emma to finsih our season.
As mentioned last night we wish Peter Reis (Australian >50's team) and Emma Cairduff (Australian >35's team) all the best for their respective World Cups in November - Pete in Auckland & Emma in Cape Town.
Congratulations to all 4 teams for the season that again highlighted what Masters hockey is about to ensure we ran 2 matches every week no matter what numbers we had and provide a competitive and even competition for all involved. Don't forget the Assocaition grand final on 14 September and Masters will be running the 'hill' bar from 12 noon. Good to luck to those playing club and still involved with finals.
On behalf of the committee we trust everyone has enjoyed the season and look forward to seeing you back in 2025. Lets all work together and continue to 'grow' Masters hockey on the coast.
