Cornish: Second not good enough

The Hastings club is focusing solely on the South Hockey League Sussex Area - Division One title after three successive runners-up finishes.

Saxons captain Paddy Cornish said: “I’ve already said to everyone that second isn’t good enough. We’ve had enough of finishing second; we all want to get promoted. If we do our job, there’s not a team in the league that will come near us.”

Horntye Park-based Saxons have lost promotion play-offs to the second place finishers in South Hockey League Kent Area - Division One for the last two seasons and are therefore hoping for automatic promotion this time around.

“We all know that the Kent League is so much stronger than ours,” continued Cornish. “If we want to get promoted, we’re going to have to do it by finishing top.”

Saxons haven’t got the easiest of starts because their first game is at home to a Penguin side which Cornish reckons “will definitely be up there with us” tomorrow (Saturday). Push-back is 1.30pm.

They will also be in action on Sunday with a trip to Camberley & Farnborough, from South Hockey League Surrey Area - Division One, for an EHB Men’s Vase second round tie.

Will Orr may be unavailable tomorrow and Pete Watters will miss the Sunday game. Saxons won 3-1 away to Folkestone II in a friendly last weekend thanks to goals from Jamie Busbridge, George Eldridge and Dan Burnett.