Following their semi final win over Triton, West Bridgford Hockey Club 2nd XI headed to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Sunday 5 May for the EH Men’s Tier 3 National Final.
Their opposition, Middlesbrough based Stokesley, had won 15-0 and beaten Bridgford rivals Harborne en-route to Lee Valley so would provide a considerably stern test.
Following extra training sessions, the team assembled on the morning of the final in bright sunshine. Transport to London was provided by Sharpes of Nottingham and players and coaches were joined by a substantial following of family, friends and fellow club people.
Following a short stop at Peterborough, the executive coach meandered past Cambridge and down the M11 with the on-board knowledge that the warm up balls had been left behind. After extensive communication with teams and players already in London, crisis was averted. With the possible monumental catastrophe prevented, it gave the players something to laugh about.
With a couple of hours to spare before push back, the players mingled with the growing crowd as more family and friends congregated following car, tube and train journeys to witness the day. Following official stick checks and a chilled warm up in the heat, the players gathered in the changing room and coach Paul Sibley, having stood aside from playing duties gave the speech of the year.
As the teams emerged out on to the pitch, temperatures reached 25 degrees and the crowd began to raise the levels of noise inside the stadium. Stokesley had a not so secret weapon that they unleashed within seconds of the start and the rather humongous aerial lead to a small amount of panic at the back for Bridgford, eventually resulting in the first penalty corner.
Fortunately, the panic would only lead to one half chance from that corner and with the speech still ringing in the ears and the secret well and truly out, the calmness and coolness of Bridgford started to take over. A potent aerial of their own from Rob Davison led to Will Good breaking the deadlock and a second from Arun Mayor provided a two-goal lead after two quarters.
At each interval, the mantra to stay calm was relayed amongst plenty of re-hydration in the searing heat. Two more periods of 17 and a half minutes saw Bridgford not so much dominate but completely control the game. Will Good added a third, a second for him and despite a few more half chances for Stokesley it was only Bridgford that looked like scoring more, creating numerous glorious chances to extend the lead.
After the tight victories in previous rounds, the winning margin was testament to how well Bridgford performed on the day. It was a day where every player contributed and every player put in a solid performance, a true display of team togetherness.
As the coach ambled it’s way north up the M11, re-hydration of a different nature started to flow and the victory party well and truly started. The achievement will go down as one of the best in the club’s history and the day will live fond in the memories of everyone involved.
The players would like to thank not just the great support on the day but also everyone who has come down to watch at any point and the club as a whole for everything it has done to back the journey from Beeston in the first round to Ipswich, Plymouth and London.
You can find photos of the day and the celebrations on Instagram @westbridgfordhockey and facebook @WBHockeyClub
Written by Graham Lockwood