Fierce rivals to face off in finals

United and Old Boys in eagerly anticipated match

BORDER hockey action reaches its peak this weekend as the finals of the men’s and women’s premier divisions are set to be decided .

For the men United Hockey Club will be defending their title again as they front up against surprise finalists Old Boys, in what promises to be an all out action game.

The women’s division sees the seasons form teams Old Boys and Parkside meet in their eagerly anticipated final match-up.

At the conclusion of the roundrobin phase Old Boys and Parkside were locked on 20 points each, with Old Boys just ahead having drawn a game more than Parkside.

After nine matches both teams had five wins to their names, Old Boys however had three draws and one defeat while Parkside had two draws and two losses.

Having picked up an extra bonus point more than Old Boys allowed Parkside to finish on the same number of points.

Their form against each other over the season doesn’t really separate them either with Old Boys having won the first meeting 3-1, Parkside winning the second match 2-0 with the third ending in an exciting 2-2 draw.

Sunday’s final should be another extremely close and competitive affair with both sides going all out for the win.

Both are in top form and neither side can really count themselves as favourites – that will depend on who can put in the best performance on the day.

In the men’s final defending champs United will be the clear favourite.

The team has lost only once in the past few years of Border league hockey and enjoyed two comfortable wins over them in the round-robin phase earlier in the season.

Old Boys however will be very confident going into the clash having upset Parkside in the semis and will be aiming to take that momentum into the final on Sunday afternoon.

In an interesting development Bevan Bennett will be looking for silverware in both finals.

The stalwart United player is also coach of the Old Boys women’s team so will be hoping to see his side claim victory before he hits the turf himself to try help United earn another title. “This is the first time I have been in this position and to be honest I haven’t really been thinking about it,” Bennett said.

“This is my second season coaching the ladies side, we have a young and very ambitious team and I think they will play a solid game on Sunday and go for the win.”

“On United’s side we have had a good season, but have not played at our best and although we go into the final as favourites, Old Boys are a good side who have the hunger and probably want it more than us, so we will need to be at the top of our game if we want to win,” Bennett admitted.

The only other premier league action for the day will see Buffs take on Phoenix and Parkside do battle with Bohs in the third/fourth playoff clash.

Parkside should be able to claim third place but a determined Bohs outfit will want to end their season on a high with a win.

Sunday’s Premier League PlayOff Action:

Bohs v Parkside third/fourth playoff – 1pm

Women’s final: Old Boys v Parkside – 2.30pm

Men’s final: United v Old Boys – 4pm