Orange went agonisingly close to claiming a Hockey NSW Men’s Masters Over 35s State Championship at Bathurst last weekend, falling at the final hurdle in division two.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The side, qualifying for the second division decider emphatically, were edged out by Nepean in the big dance.
After thumping Goulburn 2 by three goals, winning 4-1, to waltz into the decider Nepean snuck home over Orange, winning 3-2 in a thrilling affair.
That result came after Orange struggled somewhat in the combined grade preliminary games. The entire Over 35s division played together before splitting into two divisions for the finals.
Orange kicked off its campaign with a 4-1 loss to Goulburn 1, going down to Bathurst 3-1 after that. The side bounced back, beating Macarthur 2 4-0 before the final.
Bathurst eventually finished fourth in division one.
In the Over 55s tournament at Illawarra late last month, Orange played some good hockey but was unable to score a win.
Orange lost its first two games by two goals, going down to Newcastle (2-0) and then Manning Valley (3-1) before lifting in the final two games of the carnival.
After the loss to Manning Valley Orange was just pipped by Coffs Coast (2-1), before going down to central west rivals Bathurst 2 with the same scoreline in the division two semi-final. Bathurst’s top side finished second in the top division.
It lost the final 6-1 to Illawarra.