SW HOCKEY Davis Wood League starts today
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- Last Updated on Saturday, 27 September 2014 11:25
- Published on Saturday, 27 September 2014 00:47
The 2014-15 men’s Davis Wood-sponsored West of England & South Wales Hockey League season starts today.
Plymouth Marjon men’s first team face a testing opening weekend with a Premiership trip to ambitious Bristol club Firebrands (Clifton College 1400) followed swiftly by tomorrow's home England Hockey Men’s Cup second round tie against national league side Team Bath Buccaneers at the University of St Mark & St John (1230).
PMHC men’s first team manager and coach Jamie Oxley – a club stalwart – admits “with a derby against Isca next week I guess we couldn’t have faced three more testing fixtures in the opening two weekends.
“Like us Firebrands and Isca want to get back into the national league and of course on Sunday we have the cup tie against Bath Buccs who are already an established England Hockey League side with their own aspirations of promotion to the Premier Division.
“It is a tough start but we have had a good pre-season. Of course however well pre-season has gone you will always think there are things we could have done better – but that’s just the way it is.”
Ominously Oxley cannot remember a good start to his first team’s season – even on the two occasions Plymouth won promotion to the England Hockey League.
He muses: “I don’t ever recall us getting off to a flying start, not really, even the seasons we have won the league.”
Winning the league – and prestigious promotion to EHL Men’s Conference West – remains the perennial pre-season target for Plymouth.
Oxley says: “I guess that’s part of the reason why we have entered the cup again this season after a long absence, since we were last in the national league.
“It’s a challenge and we want a challenge. It so happens we came out of the hat at home to Bath Buccs so now we get to play a Conference West club and see how we fare.”
University of Exeter Sports Park hosts two top opening Premiership encounters as the hosts’ A team meet Cornwall’s top side Truro – newly promoted Championship champions - at 1400.
Isca – newly relegated from EHL Men’s Conference West – begin their bid to bounce back against University of Exeter B at 1530.
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