Two quick goals from Geraldton end LGSHA’s championship dream

Lower Great Southern Hockey Association fell short in their bid to win the division 1 title at the CBH Group Men’s Country Championships in Perth yesterday. Up against Geraldton in the grand final, the LGSHA conceded two goals in a matter of minutes in the second term and were never able to recover. Jake Prunster scored from a penalty corner and Geraldton’s advantage was doubled when Ryan Dix netted a smart field goal. LGSHA hit back when Darren Parkes slammed home a penalty corner conversion with three minutes to play in the fourth but they lost, 2-1. Leander McQuade was terrific in the final and player-coach Parkes was also influential. An impressive 2-0 win over Eastern Goldfields Hockey Association in Sunday’s semifinals guided the LGSHA into the grand final. The LGSHA went through the round-robin matches without a win and finished last of the four teams in division 1. They faced the top-ranked Eastern Goldfields side in the semifinal showdown and bounced back strongly to book their place in the final. After losing to Eastern Goldfields on Saturday, the LGSHA were too strong in the semifinal as youngster Taylor Pocock opened the scoring in the second quarter. That one-goal advantage was doubled when McQuade found the back of the net in the third term and the LGSHA defended well from that point on to knock Eastern Goldfields out of title contention. The LGSHA team played with better cohesion in the semifinal victory, with a significant lift across the field giving them a chance at grand final glory. The win came without Tim Metcalfe (hamstring) and Hudson Field (foot), who were casualties from the loss to Upper Great Southern Hockey Association earlier on Sunday, but the pair played in the grand final. Parkes scored in the clash with Uppers but it was not enough as his team went down 2-1 and finished without a point from their three regular games. On the opening day, the LGSHA fell short against Eastern Goldfields, 3-2, despite Niven Brown and James Leiper finding the back of the net. In the second match on Saturday, they lost 2-0 to Geraldton.