Having won the London South League title last Sunday, the U16 boys rocked up to the fantastic Nottingham Hockey Centre on a glorious Spring afternoon, full of confidence and expectation. The atmosphere was buzzing - teams from all over the country were competing in the finals of the Tier 1 and Teir 2 cup and plate competitions for girls and boys at U16 and U18. There was a lot to take in and after the official team photo, the team headed to the changing rooms to take a moment to focus and take in one last pep talk from coach Ben, who has guided these boys so brilliantly through the league and cup matches this season.

The pitch was sand-dressed, so a very familiar surface for BromBeck and as the sun beamed down, the boys cracked on with their, now very familiar, warm up drills. Ashby, who had scored a barrel-full of goals in their route to the final, also warmed up, allowing Ben to get some sense of the opposition. At bang on 2pm, the whistle went and the final begun and BromBeck took no time at all to take control of the game. The intensity was deliberately high and Ashby struggled to take any possession, and when they did, it was quickly taken back by the boys, working really hard. There were a number of half chances but it was proving difficult to beat the congestion in the Ashby D. The pressure paid off and BromBeck won a short corner in the 13' and a second a few minutes later. The second attempt was a perfect execution of the training and James whipped in the opening goal. Yet another short corner only two minutes later saw Callum double the lead, taking on a loose ball and lifting it past the flailing Ashby keeper. In a rare foray into the Brombeck 25, Ashby won their first short corner which was smothered and cleared and soon after Toby extended the lead after another scramble in the Ashby D, tucking away goal 3 after a dink from Fynn. The last few minutes of the half saw Ashby with more attacking runs and winning three short corners in quick succession. The first padded away by Sam, the second saved but the third, after the whistle had gone, managed to get passed everyone and gave Ashby a glimmer of hope, and reducing the deficit to 2 at the half.

There was a renewed vigour from Ashby into the second half, and after Rohan being drawn in and given a green card, Brombeck was down to ten boys for two minutes. After a poor back pass, Ashby had a lighting quick, clear run on goal and with Sam beaten, Noah who had raced back, reached out and managed to push the ball away. After Sam pushed away a flick, narrowly missing Eoin's head, there were a few attacks by Ashby but they were unable to find a way through the Brombeck defence. Ten minutes after a fluffed BromBeck short corner, Toby made a superb cross into the D where Callum was waiting and who made no mistake in chalking up goal number 4. None of the next four short corners won, were converted into goals leaving the scoreline unchanged. However, the last five minutes of the game was a goal frenzy with three scored in quick succession - a delightful solo effort, taken across the D and hammered into the back corner from James, another piece of individual skill from Callum navigating his way through the D and neatly beating the keeper and finally, goal number 7, the result of a great team play from Jake finding Callum, weaving his way through the D, finding Fynn, who found a pass through for Teo to tap in. This is the stuff of dreams. With Ashby desperate for it all to be over, the final whistle sounded and with that, BromBeck had just become national champions.

An incredible finish to a fantastic season both for the boys and the coach - winning a final so convincingly. For a number of the boys, this was their first season at the club and for many this was the last fixture of junior hockey. It was a very proud moment for everyone to lift the trophy and know they have been part of something very special. Congratulations to the boys, to Ben, Juan, Decs and Harrison - what a journey!

Full highlights in the Overview section - to enjoy the action.

MJ