Congratulations to our Men’s Over 45s who secured their place in the England Hockey Tier 1 Men’s Over 45s National Final at the beginning of May.
In a tightly fought contest against last year’s championship winners Khalsa Leamington, Old Cranleighans remained resilient until the final whistle.
OCs masters drew first blood after 24 minutes as forward Gavin Adair banged the ball on his reverse neatly past the keeper following a superb pass by OCs outside the 25 that pierced Khalsa’s defensive line.
With the score remaining 1-0 into the break it was Khalsa who responded with characteristic fighting spirit 14 minutes into the second half. A short corner rebound was mercilessly dealt with by Khalsa striker as it was hammered home for the equaliser, quietening the OC supporters. As the battle for supremacy intensified in the middle of the park, both sides continued to put their bodies on the line with reckless abandon and a few cards to allow players to calm themselves down.
The turning point came when OCs earned back-to-back penalty corners. With the tension palpable, Grant stepped up to deliver the decisive counterpunch. Channelling the aggression of the contest, he unleashed an unstoppable drag-flick that rocketed into the roof of the net. Grant made sure the crowd got to see his wizardry again as he nailed a second goal with identical drag flick precession to give OCs a two goal lead.
Whilst Khalsa threw everything forward in search of an equaliser, the OCs defence stood firm and when the final whistle blew, it was the Old Cranleighans who had their arms raised in victory, bruised but triumphant.
Final Score: Old Cranleighans Over 45s 3-1 Khalsa Leamington Over 45s
The final will be played at Lee Valley on 4th May @ 6pm. Information of tickets will be made available as soon as possible.