On Sunday 5th May, West Bridgford men’s 2nd XI will head to the hockey equivalent of Wembley for a national cup final after beating Triton Hockey Club’s 1st XI on Saturday, 13th April.
The road to Lee Valley started back in October with a 5-0 over local rivals Beeston which was followed by a pre-Christmas trip to East Anglia to face Ipswich and East Suffolk 1st XI. Despite the free-scoring hosts topping their division at the time, West Bridgford ran out comfortable 4-0 winners and promptly went on to experience the delights of Ipswich nightlife after an East Anglian football derby.
A home tie against Wisbech Town 1st XI was next and a sizeable crowd were treated to a shuffle shoot out after the match finished 3-3. A sudden death successful shuffle from Oli Matharu sent West Bridgford through.
With a quarter final place secured the side were rewarded with a 10-hour round trip to Plymouth to play against Devenport Services. A tightly contested game was again level at the end of normal time (2-2). Step forward the Shuffle King, goalkeeper Harry Wade who managed to ensure Devenport scored none of their five shuffles and ensure the Sunday night Karaoke in Plymouth was an enjoyable one.
In the home semi final against Triton, the side found themselves losing 2-1 with little over 5 minutes remaining. The team spirit and constant pressure finally paid dividend and two goals from Zach Shaw in the closing stages gave the team and the raucous crowd a fantastic 3-2 victory.
It’s a remarkable achievement for the club’s 2nd XI who have been competing against 1st XI sides for much of the competition.
The reward is a trip down south to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on a bank holiday weekend in May, where they will face Stokesley Hockey Club who are based in Middlesborough. A huge good luck to the team and fingers crossed for some silverware.
For more information on West Bridgford Hockey Club, please visit the website at www.wbhc.co.uk
You can also find them on Instagram at @westbridgfordhockey and Facebook @WBHockeyClub.