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KNYSNA HOCKEY NEWS – The men's team from Old Oaks Knysna Hockey Club managed to pull off a win last weekend in what could be their last game of the 2021 season.
The win came just two days before the South African Hockey Association (Saha) recommended the suspension of all hockey countrywide.
On Monday 14 June, Saha issued an announcement recommending the suspension of all hockey due to fears surrounding the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the announcement the decision will be revisited at the end of June when a decision will be made on the way forward. This sees the suspension of all action in the 2021 Eden Hockey Senior League for the time being.
But before the suspension was brought into effect, on Saturday 12 June, Old Oaks faced off with Crusaders Men 2, playing the fixture on home turf after it had been moved from George.
Stuart Daniel keeps control of the ball.
Their game was scheduled for the later time slot, with the first match of the day being played between Crusaders Ladies 2 and Wanderers Ladies at 14:00. Despite strong opposition from Wanderers, the second Crusaders Ladies team managed to round out an important 5-2 win.
The Old Oaks vs Crusaders 2 game started at 15:30 and the former got matters underway as the team from George faced the unenviable task of playing into the sun in the first half. It was a slow start by both sides, but in the second quarter Old Oaks managed to break the deadlock through a goal from Nick Olivier.
Their lead didn't last long however, as Crusaders 2 levelled matters within a minute of the restart to put the score at 1-1. Crusaders 2 then took the lead shortly before half-time through a brilliantly taken drag-flick goal that saw the score stand at 2-1 midway through the game.
Despite playing into the sun, Old Oaks sparked to life in the third quarter and used their experience to take control of proceedings.
Kyle Groome (back) looks to get to the ball before his opponent.
They drew level at 2-2 through a goal from Stuart Daniel before a strong shot from the right-hand side of the circle from Darren Kamfer reclaimed the lead for Old Oaks, with the score 3-2 at the end of the third quarter. Crusaders 2 nearly drew level once again through a drag-flick but a sharp save from Old Oaks goalkeeper Mandilekahle Pantsi kept them at bay. The fourth quarter would see the game put to bed for Old Oaks, courtesy of a second goal for Daniel.
Stuart Daniel eyes up a potential pass.
With the league suspended, the Old Oaks Men team are now six points clear of Quarry Men 2 at the top of the log, with the latter holding a game in hand. Old Oaks Ladies were also due to play on Saturday, against Crusaders Ladies in George, but their match was postponed. They also lie top of their log, five points clear of Quarry Ladies.
Alan Gerber (right, red) tussles for the ball with a Crusaders 2 player.
Photos: Blake Linder
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