They will now face Team Bath Buccaneers after twice recovering from going behind. In earlier rounds Rutland had stumbled to victory but on Saturday they fought back well.

After threatening the Bowdon goal early on, Rutland were hit on the break and found themselves a goal down after a well-worked short corner.

But they continued to pressure the Bowdon circle and had four great chances to equalize before levelling. Brilliant defensive work by Owen Evans allowed captain David Booth to thread a ball through to Scott Perry who finished neatly to go in level at the break.

Bowdon came out forcefully in the second period and Rutland were caught sleeping when a defensive error gifted Bowdon their second goal.

This spurred the home team on. Marcus Parsons and Harrison Ginn put in superb performances and Rutland were rewarded when Perry bagged a second with a crisp strike to the bottom corner.

From this point Rutland were in command. Jack Bishop capitalized on a quick break down the right to put Rutland ahead for the first time and this allowed Rutland to settle and play some really attractive hockey.

Bowdon were given hope when Perry was yellow-carded with five minutes to go, but this was dashed three minutes later when Booth finished off a short corner off to seal the win.

Rutland players and coaches thanked supporters for a fantastic turnout and hope for more vocal backing at the finals weekend, at Beeston Hockey Club on April 10 and 11.

EH National U16 Plate Semi Final draw:
Rutland v Team Bath Buccaneers
Woking v Coventry and North Warwickshire