Hockey

Havant Hockey Club, in third place in South League Premier Division One, lost ground in their quest for promotion back to the National League when they went down 0 – 5 to Old Georgians, the team now at the top, in the rearranged game at home on 10 January. However after the postponed game with Lewes on 17 January, Havant have got back to winnings ways in the following weeks with a 3 – 0 win at home to Oxford Hawks and an away 3 – 2 win at London Wayfarers.

With the defeat against new leaders Old Georgians in January Havant are now 6 points behind them and four points back from second placed Sevenoaks. Havant and Sevenoaks have played the same number of games but each have a game in hand on Old Georgians. However, Havant cannot afford to fall any further behind the teams above them.

Havant has lost just two games this season, both against the teams above them. Looking ahead at Havant’s prospects in the remainder of the season and their promotion prospects, leaders Old Georgians have played one more game, have six more points and have scored 22 more goals than Havant, although 14 of those came in one game against lowly Milton Keynes! Second team Sevenoaks are slight favourates, having played the same number of games as Havant with similar goals for and against but have four more points than Havant and only two less than Old Georgians. All this points to Havant having to continue winning against the teams below them in the league and finding a way of defeating Sevenoaks at home on 28 February and Old Georgians, also at home, on the final day of the season on 28 March – which game could be the promotion decider. Only one team is guaranteed promotion from South League Premier Division One.

Looking crucially at Havant’s player situation, star and top scorer with 17 goals, Sandeep Singh, has returned to India to play league hockey with his home Club Punjab Warriors in the Hero Indian Super League. The tournament ends on 22nd February after which Sandeep is expected back for the critical end of season games against Sevenoaks and Old Georgians. The next top scorer for Havant is James Speke with 9 goals followed by Michael Dellar-Merricks with 8 goals. However, Havant have signed former player Satchi Reddy, a strong defender with a good short corner shot, for the rest of the season. Satchi played and scored from a short corner in the win against London Wayfarers on 31 January, having landed only at 6.20am on the day of the match after an overnight flight from Johannesburg. Satachi has been playing and coaching in South Africa in his home town Durban. Another new signing, Argentinian forward Gonzola Ayala (who importantly has an Italian passport), should also strengthen the team for the crucial run-in to the season.

By
Tim Randall
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