Boys win Kent U16 final.

By Simon Black (Assistant Coach Boys U15 / U16)

Boys win Kent U16 Final

History was made as two Bromley & Beckenham teams contested the Kent U16 Boys Final held at Canterbury HC. So winners and runners up to us.

Having entered an U15 and U16 side into the U16 league at the start of the season both sides had found themselves in second place in their respective tables towards the end of the season and thus ultimately arriving at the final day game. Both faced tricky semi-finals.

The U15 boys took on a physically strong U16 Gore Court team first up and despite going a goal down stuck to their task. Gaining in strength they begun to more than match their opposition and an equaliser came. Tension mounted and then in the dying minutes a short corner to us, superbly despatched and a 2-1 win gained.

The U16 side were next up and despite missing 8 players, due to impending GCSE exams, confidentially took on an also slightly weaker than normal Sutton Valance side. The boys took control of the game early and played some open and expansive hockey coming through as well deserved 5-1 winners. All set then for the Bromley & Beckenham show down.

The final was competitively and skilfully played with the almost full strength U15's eventually coming from behind in a very close game against their weakened U16 colleagues to just shade it by 3 goals to 2. Perhaps more important than the actual result was the fact that we as a club had two teams in the final and with 30 of our boys showing the rest of the county just how well they can play hockey. A fantastic achievement.

Well done therefore to all the boys that played today and indeed throughout the season. Also a great thank you to the coaches, our umpires and the many supporters who have got behind the various teams we've run this year. Finally though, a special thank you must go to the 'Leader of the Pack' the one and only Neil Berry for organising practically everything.

Please Support the Ladies 1's in their final this Sunday

Please make every effort to support the Ladies 1's this Sunday.
===================================================================== From Nigel Walshe - Ladies 1st Team Coach.

The Ladies first team play in the Kent Plate final this Sunday (18th May) at Canterbury H.C. (Polo Farm) at 10.00.

The squad have worked extremely hard throughout the season, and we hope to finish the season off by winning the Final on Sunday.

Many of you have stood on the sidelines at Langley Park on a Saturday, showing your support, and this has often proved to be invaluable, having supporters at games always provides extra motivation to players on the pitch, which is why it would be greatly appreciated if as many of you as possible could make the trip to Canterbury on Sunday to support the Ladies for the final time this season.

The Final starts at 10:00, which I know is an early start, but I’m sure there will be breakfast at the clubhouse!

On a personal note – I would like to thank all of you who have come to support throughout the season, it has been great to see supporters creating an atmosphere at games. So thank you for that, and hopefully we’ll see as many of you as possible on Sunday


Cheers
Nigel

Congrats to Boys U15.

Congratulations to the Boys U15 who last weekend won the U15 EH National Plate Final. A great achievement for all the boys and for Simon Black & Neil Berry.

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By Simon Black (Assistant Coach - Boys U15/16)

Congratulations to the 16 boys who together lifted the Boys U15 HA National Plate by beating Cannock, one of the country's leading clubs, by 6 goals to 2.

A fantastic win and one of the best performances by a team of this age, with pace, passion, gritty defending and brilliantly taken goals. The result was even more special given both the high standard of the opposition and the extremely hot and sunny conditions.

Played at Guildford HC in front of a large and noisy crowd, the Brombeck boys sought to take control from the very start, moving the ball confidently around the back, holding the middle of the pitch and making insisive attacks down both flanks.

When the ball was lost they closed the opposition down and tackled with skill and aggression. Despite an early lead being pegged back the solid defence, an increasingly expansive midfield
and our lively forward line turned up the pressure and by half time we had built a 3-1 advantage.

The game was not yet won and from somewhere our Brombeck boys found even more energy, enthusiasm and running for the second half. They soaked up some spirited play by the Cannock lads, rewarding their efforts by taking the ball off them, dominating play for a sustained period and then crashing two further goals passed their goal keeper to make it 5-1. A further goal apiece, the game was over and the plate was ours.

It should also be recorded how well the whole squad represented the club so fantastically both
on and off the field. Their behaviour and attitude to a serious competition showed in not only the final performance but also those along the way where they dealt with an excessively physical Dunmow side, a solid Surbiton team and even a weekend trip north to beat the Manchester based Timperley club in the semi-final. Boys you did a great job.

A thank you should also go to all the parents, friends and family who have given the team such great support, not only at the final but at all the other games played this season. It has really helped and as those who have watched will have noted, this team can really play some wonderful hockey.

The winning squad was: James Regester (GK), Mark Philpot (GK), Harry Black, Simon Firth, Crispen Kenney, Jamie Hemingway, Andrew Dalman, Tunc Ilgin, Thomas Berry, Cian Sutcliffe, Jonathon Mayes, Guy Hughes, Andrew Ram, Chris Harden, Nicholas Rao & Joe Huggett.