HAM

On Sunday an era came to an end when the last games were played on the gravel. If things go as planned on Sunday 15th June 2003 the KO Final will be played on the new synthetic surface. The official opening is set for September with the visit of a still undisclosed foreign national side to play against a local selection.

The two teams that will be contesting this final will be Young Stars and The Athlete's Foot who disposed of The George Pub and Pasta Poiatti Qormi respectively. In the first semi-final, which was a repeat of last year's Final, Young Stars saw off holders The George Pub after coming from a goal down. The George Pub started the better side as they wrestled the initiative from Young Stars and creating the better chances. Salnitro's good hit from the edge of the dee went just wide while Luke Busutill Leaver, who was returning following injury, took his chance and gave The George Pub a half time lead.

The second half was a different story as Young Stars cranked up the pressure on The George Pub defence. The holders were forced for long stretches in their own half even though Young Stars were finding it difficult to get a shoot on goal. Their only alternative was set pieces and their goals came from two short corner moves in the final fifteen minutes. First Chris Bugeja equalised and then David Evans picked up a rebound and scored with a reverse hit to send his team into the final.

The Athlete's Foot joined Young Stars in the Final with a 2-0 victory over Pasta Poiatti. A quick goal after barely five minutes from Shaun Mifsud set the pattern for the game as Pasta Poiatti were forced to change their game plan from the word go. The game remained balanced through out with Pasta Poiatti basing their game on long balls to their attackers. Unlike their last league encounter in which The Athlete's Foot were soundly beaten 4-1, this time round their defence came out on tops with Magri, Bianchi and Bartolo being tightly shackled and rarely getting a sight of goal.

The Athlete's Foot played on the break and their counter attacks kept causing problems to the Pasta Poiatti defence even though The Athlete's Foot attackers tended to hold on to the ball just a bit to much. They left the second goal for late when in the final five minutes substitute Steve Cachia was fouled in the dee and Michael Caruana Smith stepped up to score the resultant penalty to secure the Final for his side.

With this game the curtain came down on over a hundred years of hockey being played on the sand surface at Kordin. Over the years the Complex has seen numerous changes and has gone through ups and down. Except for a brief period during the Suez Crises, when the grounds were used as a parking depot, hockey was always played at Kordin. The complex is now set to take a huge step forward with the new artificial surface, a surface that will certainly enhance the game in Malta as well as serving as a boost for the upcoming generation of hockey players.

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