A decisive 3-1 victory over Wests puts Margaret River men’s hockey team into second place on the ladder with one round to go before the finals.
The game started strongly with a series of short, possessive passages of play which paid off as Tyron Bradshaw swept a great pass from Jason Arblaster into the goals.
Wests tried hard to respond but the solid River defence stood solid and kept on denying them and after some desperate, and spectacular goal keeping coming from Steven Noakes the team rallied even harder.
A timely second goal was scored by Bradshaw after picking up a pass from Michael Jones with just five seconds left in the first half, which saw Margaret River going into the break with a solid 2-0 lead over the much-fancied Wests.
The lead was extended early in the second half when Jones pounced on a loose ball in the circle to bring up the third goal.
Midway through the half, Wests clawed a goal back from a skilful shot deep in the circle, however Margaret River maintained the pressure and continued to play well.
Some tense moments towards the end of the match with a final push from Wests saw the Margaret River defence under considerable pressure, however Dan Bell, leading by example, stood up strongly with effective tackling and great positioning to keep Wests out.
Best players were Bradshaw, Grant Evans, Daniel Stocker and Clint Gartrell.
There is now a two-week break until the next fixtured game against Capel on Saturday 22 July at 1:30 pm.