Manx Hockey Association’s finals day proved another great celebration of the domestic game at the National Sports Centre on Saturday.

It was a testament to its continuing popularity to see spectators from every club there to support their teams and watch some excellent hockey.

First up Castletown B took on Harlequins in the MHA Women’s Plate Final, pitching Harlequins’ incredible scoring record against Castletown’s mighty defence, so it really was a match that could have gone either way.

Castletown managed to score a first-half goal and hold on until the break to take a narrow lead into the second half.

Harlequins were not deterred by this and went after the game as hard as they could. Both sides managed to score a goal in the second half, meaning that the southerners ultimately celebrated victory.

Quins will hope to continue their league form and beat the Castletown side when they next face off in what will surely be another brilliant encounter between the two sides to decide the destination of the league title.

Next up was the David versus Goliath battle in which Valkyrs B took on Vikings A in the MHA Women’s Cup Final.

Yet to win a league game this year, Valkyrs’ performances at times have been deserving of a lot more, while Vikings have only dropped a single point all season and look likely to take the title this coming weekend.

Therefore, Valkyrs knew they had to give this match everything and chased every lost cause regardless of how desperate it may have been.

Not surprisingly, Vikings ran out deserving and convincing winners but Valkyrs can be proud of the fact that they got to the final and scored against one of the meanest defences Manx hockey has arguably ever seen.

The third game of the day saw a Douglas derby between two teams that have been battling for top honours for what seems like an eternity.

Bacchas have maintained this supremacy since 2010 when Vikings last beat them in a cup final. But, after Vikings managed to beat them in the league earlier this year, the match was expected to be close.

The Cronkbourne players were clinical, finishing strongly with four penalty corners scored while Vikings saw many of their penalty corners wasted.

Having been 1-3 down at half-time it was a difficult ask for Vikings to come back. Ultimately they did well to score another two goals in the second half, but they could not keep the white wall back from their own goal.

So, Bacchas reign supreme in the cup but the two sides meet again this weekend in a match that could well decide the destination of the league title.

Another close result was in store for a southern side when Castletown A defeated Vikings C in the Men’s Plate Final to secure their first silverware for a while.

Vikings did well last year to take Valkyrs B to penalty flicks in the final and, en route to this year’s showdown, they managed to beat league leaders Bacchas B so they were not a team to be underestimated.

Castletown A were also missing three four keys players but still went into the game as favourites with their main attacking threats intact.

Despite Vikings stern resistance the southerners ultimately walked away with the plate in hand courtesy of goals from veteran Paul Kelly and the rapid Andrew Winstanley.

This Saturday sees the return of the normal league fixtures with some exciting games in prospect. The Rossborough Women’s Premier League title is expected to be decided and close matches are expected between title challengers Bacchas A and Vikings A in Rossborough Men’s Premier League.