HOCKEY
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THE Souths Aces have claimed their third straight Bathurst Men’s Hockey Association first grade crown with a convincing 5-2 win over St Pat’s White on Saturday at the Cooke Hockey Complex.
The Saints went ahead 10 minutes into the match when Danny Weal scored, but there wasn’t a lot of joy thereafter for the blue and whites.
It was a game that Souths controlled for the final 50 minutes of play.
“It’s a great result, the boys put in all season and it means a lot to the club,” Souths veteran John Rudge said.
“First grade is a big stepping stone for the boys as they go up to Premier League and to win back-to-back competitions is fantastic, the younger players really stood up today.”
After Weal’s initial strike, Souths gradually began to work their way into the game and look the more threatening side.
Having earned a couple of short corners, Souths got on the board when a shot from Andy Cranston was saved by Pat’s goalkeeper David Clews only for Nick Milligan to slot home on the rebound after 25 minutes.
With half-time looming, Souths began to turn the screws again.
They were rewarded with a goal to Rudge just 30 seconds from the break.
Tempers flared and a couple of Saints players spent time in the dugout for infringements, leaving them with just nine players on the field for a few minutes at the start of the second half.
It didn’t cost them any goals, but Souths were able to hurt them further nonetheless as Milligan scored his second with half an hour left to play.
The lead got to 4-1 when Adam Campbell scored for the two blues before St Pat’s finally managed to rally thanks to a Brodie Cooke goal.
However, it wasn’t the tonic for a miraculous Pat’s comeback.
Just to put an exclamation mark on proceedings, Cranston slotted home his team’s fifth.
“There were some huge efforts out there, Andy Cranston and Adam Campbell have a lot of experience and led us around the field very well, Daniel White was outstanding in goals again as he has been all year,” Rudge said.
“John Clarke was the other one who was sensational today.
“It caps off a great year and a lot of hard work.”
SOUTHS ACES 5 (Nick Milligan 2, Andy Cranston, Adam Campbell, John Rudge) defeated ST PAT’S WHITE 2 (Brodie Cooke, Danny Weal)