The penultimate week of the Bealey's Ale House CPL took place on Saturday and the semi-final action provided plenty of excitement and drama.

The first semi-final of the day saw the Harewood Men take on Marist, the green machine appearing in their first ever top four match. With the BBQ in full flight and Nick Harris grinning from ear to ear, the match kicked off under blue skies at Marist Park. The first half was a relatively even affair until former Cavalier Richard Bain broke the deadlock with a runaway reverse stick strike from an overhead charge down that Joe Bartholomew would rather forget about. Bain's lack of match fitness saw him substituted directly afterwards. Following the halftime oranges, Bain then extended the Hunters lead with his second, and although Ben Chorley pulled one back for Marist late in the piece it was Harewood who hung on and sealed their spot in Saturday's final, winning 2-1.

The second semi-final was a women's match, also between Harewood and Marist. Marist, like their men, playing in their first ever semi-final got off to a great start with an early goal to the delight of a large number of supporter dressed in green. However, Harewood didn't earn their number one seed for nothing and showed their class as they pegged Marist back before flexing their muscles and coasting out to a 4-1 lead in the second half. Ill-discipline looked to be the only thing that could stop the Huntresses, with a number of cards throughout the match. Marist didn't give up and the final 15 minutes saw plenty of attacking action from them resulting in a second goal and the removal of their goalkeeper. But Harewood remained calm until the end and booked their second consecutive finals appearance with a 4-2 win.

Carlton Redcliffs and Southern United men squared off in the second semi-final, a replay of the 2016 final. Southern United went ahead after Delane Traber pounced on a rebound following a Jesse Forsyth reverse stick strike that hit the post. Redcliffs then went down to 10 players after captain Chris Goldsbury struggled to understand the five metre rule and this seemed to spark them into life. Nick Lidstone struck a sweet reverse into the bottom corner to draw level, and Trent Summers flicked home to put Redcliffs in front. Southern United were awarded a penalty corner right of half-time and after five attempts finally found the back of the net, but the goal was waved away as the ball hadn't travelled outside the circle. The second half was more of the same, Southern United earning plenty of corners but Sean Poulsen stood firm between the sticks for Redcliffs. Tom Mouldey then gave Redclfifs a two goal buffer, and as Southern United pushed to get back into the game by removing their goalkeeper, Trent Summers flicked in his second to seal the game 4-1 and Redcliffs' progression into the final.

The final semi-final of the day between HSOB-Burnside and Carlton Redcliffs women was always going to be a tight affair, with no less than nine Cats on display. Rachel McCann put Burnside ahead early in the first half but neither side could find the back of the net again up until halftime. As the rain became heavier, Redcliffs started to find their dominance and were rewarded with a Charlotte Symes deflection/miss-trap from a penalty corner to draw level. The rain continued to pelt down, and with 17 minutes left and a flooded turf the option to play underwater hockey wasn't accepted and the match was called off. The final 17 minutes will be played tomorrow evening, 7.30pm at Marist Park. If still tied at the end, then a penalty shootout will decide who joins Harewood in the final on Saturday afternoon.

In the men's bottom four action, HSOB-Burnside were on fire in front of goal against the Hornby Vipers winning 8-1, while Avon put in a solid display to beat University 2-0 thanks largely to a Rob Buhler double.

In the Women's wooden spoon playoff, Southern United beat the Hornby Tigers 3-0.

RESULTS

MEN
Harewood: 2 (Richard Bain 2) Marist: 1 (Ben Chorley)
Carlton Redcliffs: 4 (Trent Summers 2, Nick Lidstone, Tom Mouldey) Southern United: 1 (Delane Traber)
HSOB/Burnside: 8 (James Bennett 2, Angus McGregor 2, Moss Jackson, Guy Strawbridge, Tom Leov, Dylan Patterson) Hornby: 1 (Ben Dawson)
Avon: 2 (Rob Buhler 2) University: 0

WOMEN
Harewood: 4 (Bella Ambrosius, Anne McKechnie, Georgie Mackay-Stewart, Sam Dalziel) Marist: 2 (Charlotte Lee, Maddy Wotton)
Southern United: 3 (Kodie Kutyn, Georgia Surie, Hannah Leckey) Hornby: 1 (Nicole Cant)
HSOB/Burnside: 1 (Rachel McCann) Carlton Redcliffs: 1 (Charlotte Symes) – match called off
Avon: BYE