Maitland win semi-final with late goal in Newcastle men's hcokey

With the siren sounded and the minor semi-final heading towards a penalty shootout, Simpson managed to get the ball across the line after a short corner turned into a penalty-circle "scramble".

The Rams celebrated the deadlock-breaking moment at Maitland Park on Sunday while the 1-0 result means Wests' campaign for 2023 has now finished.

Scores were level at 0-all after regular time.

Twelve minutes of extra-time followed, split into two periods both featuring player drop-offs (nine-versus-nine and seven-versus-seven rather than the traditional 11-versus-11).

Maitland captain-coach Simon Orchard, who was sidelined with injury, described it as an "ugly goal".

The Rams advance to meet Gosford in next weekend's preliminary final after the Magpies went down 3-2 to decider-bound Norths at Newcastle International Hockey Centre on Sunday.

Zane Drennan bookended a double for the visitors in the major semi-final but Rory Walker (25^th minute), Josh Bruton (40^th minute) and Tom Budden (65^th minute) scored for Norths either side of half-time.

"We were down 1-0 but controlled long periods of play. They scored after the siren to make it 3-2. Great to be in the grand final. Really good team effort," Norths coach Dave Willott said.

Norths, vying for back-to-back titles, were runaway minor premiers this year.

In the Newcastle District Women's Hockey Association, it was Leah Capitao who split the difference for Oxfords and booked a ticket in the GF following Saturday's 1-0 victory over Gosford.

Souths rallied from two goals down to beat Regals 4-3 with Maliah Abell scoring in the closing stages.

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