Sevenoaks Hockey Club Mens First XI escaped automatic relegation on the last day of a testing season in the Mens Hockey League Premier Division.
The final results confirmed that Canterbury are automatically relegated and Sevenoaks will contest their position in the top flight with the winners of the three Conferences.
Sevenoaks, being the ninth-placed team from the Premier Division, will now battle it out in a round robin tournament for two spaces in the top tier starting on April 22 at the Nottingham Hockey Centre. It has been confirmed that they will face Oxted, the University of Exeter and the University of Nottingham.
Local rivals Oxted triumphed in the Mens Hockey League Conference East with a 72% win ratio, beating second placed Southgate by six points. The play-offs will provide Sevenoaks with the opportunity to rectify what has been a somewhat disappointing season in the Premier Division, having won just the one game.
Relative success for ladies
The Sevenoaks ladies first XI enjoyed a relatively successful season in the Investec Womens Hockey League Conference East, narrowly missing out on the top spot having won 14 of their 18 games.
In fact, the three games they lost were to both teams finished who above them in the league, Hampstead & Westminster and Wimbledon.
Preparing for next season
Whilst it is difficult to predict what will happen in the men’s play-offs, both the men and women will be looking to take Sevenoaks to that extra step next season.
The club is extremely well run and there is no doubt that it won’t be long before both teams are long term fixtures in the top flight of English Hockey.
