A Thrilling Weekend At Lee Valley Hockey And Tennis Centre For The Master's Finals Championships

Saturday saw the start of the England Hockey Championship finals with the Men's O60s Tier 2 final starting it off. Lindum’s Chris Smith opened the score sheet late into the first half with an open play goal. It was a thrilling 20 minutes as both teams battled it out trying to get the win. Shrewsbury’s Robin Conway managed to sneak one passed the goalie to help bring his team back into the match but Tony Wing scored a last minute goal and lead Lindum to victory.

The Men's O40s Tier 2 Final between Epsom and Didsbury Northern was the next match of the day. Michael Atkinson scored a penalty corner for Epsom in the 28^th minute, the only goal in the first half keeping the crowds on the edge of their seats. Anthony Symondson equalised for Didsbury Northern with a penalty corner goal but it wasn’t meant to be when Brian Mcginnis sealed the win for Epsom.

Ben Rhydding v Bedford was the first of the women's fixtures as they battled for the Men's O55s Tier 2 final. Emma Cook scored early giving Bedford the early lead but Ben Rhydding continued to battle to take home to cup. Captain Joy and Judith Tetlow extended Bedford’s lead in the second half making the final score 3-0.

The Men’s O60s was a thriller from start to finish with 6 goals with Warks & Worc Mens David Knott scoring a whopping 4 of them. Devon & Cornwall 'A' Andy Batchelor and Jon Bland tried to keep the game alive by scoring 1 each but it wasn’t enough to take Devon & Cornwall 'A' to the win.

Alderley Edge took the crowds by storm even after Chelmsford’s Fred Cooke scored the opening goal. Mark Fullerton, from Alderley Edge, scored an incredible 3 field goals and Phil Benton made sure they took home the cup with a final goal in the 70^th minute.

An exciting first half in the Men's Over 40s saw 4 goals in 11 minutes! It was Dharminder Singh for Khalsa Leamington who managed to sneak the first past goalie John Arnell. This was followed by 2 back-to-back penalty goals for Daffyd Bowles extending Khalsa Leamington's lead. Portsmouth’s Captain Stuart Avery was awarded a penalty stroke, he managed to beat goalie Jez Spicer-Martinez ending the first half 3-1. Captain Stuart Avery was the first to score in the second half, but Dharminder Singh had the last points on the board with a 70th-minute goal.

The Women's O45s Tier 2 Final was another thriller with an early goal from Harleston Magpies’ Anouska Stott, and a 30^th minute penalty stroke for Guildford’s Paula Nicholas making it 1 a piece at halftime. Heidi Wells took her team into the lead with back-to-back goals. Susan Wessels got the final goal, but it was too late for the Harleston Magpies and Guildford took home the cup.

The final match of the day, but not the weekend, was the Men's O50s Tier 1 Final that saw Reading take on Stourport. Reading’s Andre Bailey scored from penalty corner early doors and Roger Wall extended their lead with a penalty stroke taking Reading into the 2^nd 2-0 up. Phil Thomas for Stourport was eager to get his team back into the game and scored the opening second-half goal. With 24 minutes left Reading were awarded another penalty corner and it was Andrew Holden who managed to extend Reading's lead. Reading sealed the deal with a penalty corner goal from Ian Hammond and an open field goal from Chris Armitage making the final score 5-1 to Reading.

Sunday began with the Women's O35s T2 final which saw Liverpool Sefton v Epsom in a gripping match. Penny Woods saw an opportunity within the first 4 minutes giving Epsom an early lead. Jo Cassidy-Wilde wasn’t going to let her team down and equalised for Liverpool Sefton with the teams heading into half time with 1 goal each. Epsom Captain Sarah Cockayne and Laura Stone finalised the win and Epsom got to bring home the trophy.

Werey’s Sally Coleman was the first to score in the Women's Over 55s Tier 1 Final and after a gripping 45 minutes of end-to-end action Werey’s Rosie Bellinger finalised a 2-0 win over Cheshire.

The Women's Over 35s Tier 1 Final between Canterbury and Bedford was intense. Both teams tirelessly fought, and for 54 minutes neither team managed to score until Cara Brogan-Jones gave Canterbury the advantage. It took another 12 minutes for the second and final goal of the game to be scored, this came from Rachel Van De Merwe making the final score Canterbury 2, Bedford 0.

The final match of the weekend was the Women's Over 45s Tier 1 Final. Timperley’s Eluned Smith and Sarah Impey were the first and only to score in the first half giving Timperley the lead. Epsom’s Michelle Clark scored in the 54^th minute but they couldn’t manage to sneak another and Timperley took the win.