There weren’t many surprises in the Manx Hockey Association’s mixed knockout competitions at the weekend.

All teams noted as the favourites duly made their way to the finals, but that doesn’t suggest that there were no close games as there was some fantastic hockey on show.

In the MHA Mixed Cup, Valkyrs narrowly overcame a determined Castletown Celts side who were hoping they could go one step further than the week before and beat the westerners.

Valkyrs A stayed strong and, despite hitting the woodwork a number of times, continued to push while holding Castletown at bay to come away with a well-earned place in the final thanks to a narrow 2-1 win.

In the other semi-final, Vikings A took on Bacchas A which is always a match that delights the spectators.

Despite the latter - by their own standards - having a slightly disappointing season thus far, they will be buoyed by the fact that they came close to beating the outright favourites for the league and cup double, in the end only losing 3-2.

As such, Bacchas will now be hoping they can disrupt Vikings’ title party when they face each other in the league.

For Vikings, it was the sisters Kim Carney and Zoe Crowe that scored the goals that saw them go through into the final.

MIXED PLATE

The MHA Mixed Plate saw two teams red hot favourites to get to the final but they were certainly made to work for it.

Valkyrs C rushed into a two-goal lead in the first half against Vikings C and, despite the latter having by far the greater of the attacking opportunities in the second half, they couldn’t quite overcome Valkyrs who go into the final as the clear favourites.

Bacchas Colts have been mightily impressive this season, with the likes of the young Luca Parlato running the show week in week out, and they have certainly grown into their season, getting better and better every week.

The only question that remains is can they continue their upward trajectory and improve enough by the time they play in the final?

Few are going to bet against it and one thing is for sure: they will give the favourites Valkyrs C a run for their money.

MIXED BOWL

The MHA Mixed Bowl is a new competition for this season and sees the teams in Division Two competing for silverware.

Vikings E took on Castletown Cosney, with the former edging the favourites tag but only by a slim margin.

When this reporter stated this in last week’s preview, it seemed to galvanise Cosney and they ran out 2-1 winners in a game that saw James Cadamy making a number of saves and the young players running the show, driving forward and giving the more experienced players space to move and pass into.

The match was by no means one-way traffic, but ultimately it was Cosney that will make a deserved appearance on finals day.

In the other semi-final, Vikings D wore their favourites tag with pride when they overcame a battling Bacchas C side and will now be odds on favourites when they face Castletown Cosney in the final.

l Finals day will take place on November 12, with the Bowl final being played at 11am followed by the Plate final at 12.30pm and the Cup final taking place at 2pm. All games will take place at the NSC astro turf pitch.