Hennie Botha the hero to help Spencer Park book their place in men’s A-grade grand final

A goal by Hennie Botha in the last 10 seconds of extra time helped Spencer Park book their place in the Lower Great Southern Hockey Association men’s A-grade grand final in a tense victory over Manypeaks on Saturday. After 68 minutes of regular time the two sides couldn’t be separated, resulting in the preliminary final going to extra time — but the deadlock could not be broken until the dying seconds. With less than 30 seconds left, Darren Parkes took a free hit for Park and he threw an overhead pass to teammate Mitch Dolan down the wing that caught the Peaks’ defence off guard. Dolan crossed the ball to Botha at the top of the circle before the latter went one-on-one with Peaks goalie Heath Cremasco and struck the ball powerfully into the back of the net to secure a 1-0 victory. Peaks were under pressure in the last quarter, with Park having two strong shots in the first seven minutes of the last term, but Cremasco produced two strong saves. If not for Trevor Greay putting his body on the line midway through the last term, Park would have scored. Peaks won a penalty corner with seven minutes to go but Park goalie Antony Payne was up for the challenge, stopping three successive shots. Botha stole the ball in his attacking circle and just missed with five minutes to go in the game, but that would be the last good chance on goal before extra time. Kieran Howie had his penalty corner saved in extra time with just under four minutes to go, but it was Botha who became the hero. Throughout the first three quarters, both sides had chances to score, with Peaks having a number of open shots but unable to convert. Payne was terrific, saving several attempts for Park, while Parkes was terrific in the win and Botha was a solid contributor as well. Howie was solid in defeat while Chris Metcalfe and Matt Stevens were among the best for Peaks as their season came to an end. Park now take on North Albany in the A-grade grand final this Saturday.