ORANGE has finished its 2015 Hockey NSW Under-15 Boys’ Indoor State Championship campaign on the Central Coast with a heart-breaking 3-2 loss in the division two final.

 Progressing through to the decider after a commanding two days of qualifying through division two’s pool B and a 4-2 semi-final win over Wagga Wagga, Orange raced to a 2-nil first half lead over Sydney East (2) thanks to goals to Bailey Ferguson and Kaleb Cook.

But that advantage soon turned to a deficit when the metropolitan-based indoor hockey giants pegged three goals of their own, eventually holding on to claim the state championship.

Orange coach Alex Said believes once the momentum shifted there was little his side could do to stem the flow of goals.

“A few things contributed to the loss, but it’s disappointing,” he said.

“We were going so well throughout the opening stages of the tournament, to then sort of fall a part a bit ... it’s tough. Their goalie kept them in it. We definitely had more shots.”

After a 3-all draw in their opening game against Goulburn, Orange then produced a string of one-sided victories, thumping Sydney (1) 4-2 before accounting for Metro South West (2) and Port Macquarie, both via 6-nil scorelines, to top division two‘s pool B.

Orange then beat Wagga by two goals in their semi-final, before the tough loss against Sydney East (2) in the decider.

Still, Said believes the squad would  learn plenty from the championship.

“It’s great for Orange indoor and it’s great for this bunch of boys to experience such a good championship campaign,” he said. “They’ll all be back again ... I think we’ve got three or four of this group remaining in 15s, so that’ll be good for them.”

The experienced mentor said the entire squad performed with aplomb over the course of the three-day tournament, but goal-scoring wizard Cook was the undeniable standout for the Orange outfit.