By JARROD POTTER
A HORROR last 10 minutes relegated Casey Cannons Hockey Club to runners-up after Hockey Geelong fought back to take the 4-5 grand final win.
The Cannons had earned the lead through the second half at the State Netball Hockey Centre on Sunday – taking the margin to 4-2 with 11 minutes left in regulation time, but a Geelong fightback turned the tables and left the Cannons one-goal down in the dying seconds.
Casey was on the back foot early after Geelong opened the accounts, but Matty Light struck the Cannons’ first soon after as he flicked a penalty in at six minutes.
The scorers had to stay on their toes as the next drive forward resulted in the second Cannons goal. Bryan Young showed off the stellar form that won him the Vic League 1 best-and-fairest as he smashed in the second to take the lead.
The back-and-forth match would continue to offer up twists and turns as Geelong returned fire in the 11th minute to make it a 2-2 contest.
That’s how it would remain at the half as the Cannons and Sharks threatened but failed to seize their chances in front of the net.
A pair of powerful saves from Casey keeper Adam Wadley kept Geelong off the scorer’s sheet up to the half-time whistle.
The mayhem started in earnest after the resumption as Matt Guastella struck from a goalmouth scramble. Guastella’s diving effort on the goal-line pushed the margin out to two goals with 11 minutes remaining in the clash and from there the Cannons went cold.
Geelong attacked the Casey defence and brought the score to 4-4, leaving a tense three minutes on the clock to see who would claim the premiership.
The ball was seemingly stuck in Geelong’s forward half and a flick on the goal-line from Will Jackson was enough to take the triumph and win the Sharks the Vic League 1 premiership.
The Cannons’ stellar home-and-away season finishing with a 20-2 record, earning the Berwick-based club promotion into the Hockey Victoria Men’s Premier League for the 2015 season.
