It was a day of upsets for the men’s and women’s teams of the Saints Hockey Club, as they both lost their respective semi-finals by the thinnest of margins yesterday at the Providence National Stadium, on the East Bank of Demerara.
First, in the Woodpecker Products women’s league, the Saints women took on the Woodpecker Hikers and were needled 1-0. An eight-minute goal was recorded from a penalty corner by the wily veteran Maria Munroe. From there on, it was an uphill battle for the Saints ladies, who could not find a response with fulltime calling a halt to proceedings, with the Hikers setting up a date for the final against GBTI GCC to be played today.
Over in the Farfan & Mendes men’s league semi-final, the Saints men played their hearts out but were undone 2-1 in a penalty shootout that went the way of their old nemesis, the YMCA Old Fort. Fulltime ended at 1-1.
Early in the game, the Saints had taken a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute, with Baraka Garnett scoring from a penalty corner. However, Old Fort clawed their way back into the game by equalising in the 21st minute through striker Jason DeSantos, who also converted from a penalty corner. With the rest of regular time failing to find a decider, it was down to extra time, and when that too failed to dictate a winner, it came down to the penalty spot.
It was there that the Saints men were found wanting, missing their first two attempts before finding the net on the third. The two remaining penalty shots were also found wanting. Enter the Old Fort. They would begin by converting their first attempt before contriving to miss the next two. However, their fourth was sent home by none other than DeSantos to spark celebrations in the Old Fort camp. The win means that Old Fort will now face Bounty GCC in the men’s final, slated for today.
The leagues will finish in grand style under the lights tonight at the national stadium, with the women’s final being played at 19:00hrs, while the men will play at 21:00hrs.
