KNYSNA NEWS - The Old Oaks men's hockey team advanced to the Eden Hockey League final this past weekend, after beating Nelson Mandela University (NMU) 4-2 at the Oakhill Sports Campus.

These two teams previously locked horns in the pool games a few weeks ago, with Oaks thrashing NMU by six goals to two.

This time around though, NMU played with more resilience and resistance until the end.

In the first quarter Oaks started off brightly through a field goal from Shaun Mackenzie, and then went into a 2-0 lead in the second quarter via a strike from Zack Omar.

Jaques Potgieter extended the home team's lead with another goal before NMU opened their account.

In the final 10 minutes Kyle Groom from Oaks drove his side's final goal into the back of the net.

NMU refused to hoist the white flag, and through persistent play, were rewarded with a consolation goal to end proceedings.

Oaks will now play an equally formidable Crusaders side from George in their own back yard this weekend.

It is also worth mentioning that this is the first time in three years that Oaks have made the final; so lots of bragging rights are up for grabs.

The match will start at 17:30 in George on Saturday 3 August.

Old Oaks ladies

Old Oaks ladies lost against York in a penalty shoot-out, losing in the end by three goals to two. The full-time score was 2-2, indicating how evenly matched the teams were.

The York ladies will now play the Crusaders in the final - also in George on Saturday.

Coach Nigel Leverton said that he is fairly satisfied with Oaks ladies' performance this season given that they only finished in fifth place last year.

"This time around we are playing for the third and fourth play-off spot. In the pool games we managed to beat York, but unfortunately couldn't repeat it in the knockouts.

"However, there are a lot of positives we can take out of the game, and we are looking forward to the weekend's game against Plett at the Oakhill Sports Campus.

"We would love to end the season off on a high," he said.

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