Qormi claim Challenge Cup with extra time win
Qormi Daikin 3 Lightshop Hotsticks 2 Umpires: James Mizzi, Luke Busuttil Leaver
A final which lived up to its billing.
Both teams playing cagily in the first half with tight man to man marking denying space for any clear cut chances to be created.
In fact it took 29 minutes for the first penalty corner to be awarded and Qormi did not avail themselves of the opportunity.
On 30 minutes Hotsticks went into the lead when Chris Agius hit home from the left side of the D sending Hotsticks into a one goal lead which they maintained until the break.
Qormi started the second half in earnest, fluffing two penalty corner opportunities. On 46 minutes Juan Sarcia shot high into the net to grab Qormi’s equaliser as a result of a penalty corner action.
Frayed nerves and tired limbs with the clock winding down meant that at this point the game was very evenly poised with Qormi exerting more pressure on the Hotsticks’ rearguard who in turn were using their lethal counter attacks down the flanks.
On 57 minutes Thomas Degiovanni hit home to send Qormi into a 2-1 lead. On 67 minutes Martin Lust found the net to equalise for Hotsticks.
The final whistle blew with the tie deadlocked at 2-2 sending the encounter into extra time.
Kyle Micallef sent Qormi into a 3-2 lead in the second minute of the first period of extra time, a lead which they held throughout the remaining five and a half minutes and all of the second period despite Hotsticks’ efforts to equalise.
The final whistle blew with Qormi emerging as winners of the Challenge Cup 2017.
Match for third place
Laferla White Hart 0 Floriana Young Stars 2 Umpires: Manuel Imbroll, Paul Brincat
White Hart started this encounter playing open hockey forcing two penalty corners in the opening minutes with David Agius going close with a shot which shaved the far post.
Young Stars hit back with a penalty corner of their own on 14 minutes when Martijn Post hit an unstoppable shot low into the far corner of the net to send his team into a 1-0 lead.
On 18 minutes Jamie Mifsud fluffed an opportunity to increase his team’s lead, this preceding a period of the game which flowed from end to end.
Young Stars did not avail themselves of four penalty corner awards in succession on 30 minutes, mainly due to excellent goalkeeping of Ramon Chircop, White Hart’s custodian who definitely kept them at bay with one particular full length diving save which kept his goal intact.
The half time whistle blew with Young Stars maintaining their 1-0 lead.
The second half continued in the same vein.
Young Stars and White Hart both exchanged penalty corner awards with the latter exerting additional pressure in the middle of the half in search of an equaliser. On 56 minutes Young Stars extended their lead to 2-0 when Mark Camilleri picked his spot shooting low into the left corner of the net as a result of a penalty corner action.
He came close to increasing his tally on 53 minutes but the final whistle sounded with Young Stars holding on to their two goal advantage securing third place in the Challenge Cup competition.