Three consecutive victories help WA men qualify for semifinals of Hockey Australia Country Challenge in Albany

WA have surged into the semifinals of the men’s division of the Hockey Australia Country Challenge after three consecutive wins in Albany this week. The host State turned their campaign around this week after failing to register a victory in their first two games and will feature in Friday’s semifinal in a bid to reach Saturday’s gold medal decider. WA guaranteed their place in the top four following a commanding 5-0 win against South Australia on Wednesday morning. The result comes after two consecutive come-from-behind 2-1 victories against Queensland and New South Wales on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. In-form strikers Brodie Sarre and Brayden Dalton scored WA’s two first-half penalty corners to give their side a handy buffer over SA at half-time. WA continued to press in the second half and were rewarded as Chris Souchon fired home his first goal of the tournament in the 39th minute and added another shortly afterwards. SA had opportunities to score their first goal of the tournament from two penalty corners in the third period but were unable to convert. Dalton capped a terrific individual performance, scoring WA’s fifth goal of the contest from a penalty corner in the 60th minute. The result had pushed WA to the top of the standings but there were still two men’s qualifying games to be played on Wednesday to determine the semifinal fixtures. On Tuesday, WA came from behind to snatch all three points in their thrilling clash with NSW. NSW had the early momentum and a calmly converted field goal courtesy of Oliver McGill forced WA on to the back foot in the first quarter. WA goalkeeper Heath Cremasco prevented NSW from doubling their advantage in the second quarter, pushing away a field goal attempt in the 24th minute. Cremasco made another important save at the back post in the third quarter before WA won a penalty corner with four minutes left to play. WA kept pressing and midfielder Sarre emerged to level the scores, giving the hosts some much-needed momentum. NSW had two penalty corner attempts in the dying stages of the quarter and found the back of the net from their second effort. However, the goal was disallowed by the officials and the teams went into the last break locked at 1-1. WA earned two consecutive penalty corners in the last term and NSW goalkeeper David Reid tried valiantly to keep the ball out of the net with a desperate save. However, Dalton arrived on the rebound to put the hosts up 2-1 with less than 10 minutes to play. Dalton was yellow-carded and a WA turnover in midfield almost cost them a goal at the death. A NSW penalty corner in the 58th minute made for some tense moments in the final stages but WA held firm to repel the attempt and record a crucial win 2-1. On Monday night WA conceded in the first quarter, with Noah Gauci slotting home a 12th-minute field goal before Jarrod Booth equalised in the second period. Scores were level in the final quarter until Brayden Dalton scored a superb goal, diving to the ground as he slammed the ball past the keeper in the 49th minute to hand WA victory. WA are set to face off against Victoria in the second semi-final fixture on Friday, 9am. Queensland will play New South Wales in the other semi-final at 1pm.