The Isle of Wight Men’s 1st Hockey XI won the Hampshire Trophy final by beating Romsey 3-2 in Basingstoke on Sunday (1st May).
This was the 1st time the Isle of Wight had won the Hampshire Trophy since 2012.
In an unbeaten season, the Isle of Wight side had earlier won the South Central Division 3 title.
The Isle of Wight women’s hockey team had a similarly successful season gaining promotion.
From the start of the game against Romsey, the island pressed hard, winning a short corner. A fast ball to the top of the D allowed Aaron Hoare to launch a drag flick, top right into the net (1-0).
Romsey succumbed to blow after blow from the island’s attack. Tom Turney narrowly missed a well-aimed aerial pass from Hoare, but his pace and a reverse shot from Samuel Challis made the Romsey defence sweat. Payne almost added to the score line after a straight ball to the top of the D from Stuart Allen.
Romsey had their fair share of opportunities, breaking up the midfield, but were kept out by the stalwart defence of Ethan Edmunds-Lamb, Lewis Heaven-Gandy, Allen, and Patrick Butt.
End-to-end play led to a long corner awarded to the island, taking the chance to drive the ball into the D; Payne tactically won a short corner. Stephen Woodford injected to Hoare, who expertly beat the keeper with a rocket dragflick (2-0).
Island keeper Tom Speer dove into action, after a clear ball through the middle, led to a 1-on-1 with a Romsey forward. Moments later, a short corner ball bobbled into the goal (2-1). A green card for Hoare put the island numbers down to 10 for the next couple of minutes, meaning they sat deep and held their own against the Romsey press.
Half time: Isle of Wight Men’s XI 2-1 Romsey
Precision passing between Challis, Edwards and Payne, saw the island tear up the oppositions half and the whistle signalled for a short corner. The Romsey keeper kept this ball and 2 more in quick succession. After fantastic 3-D skills and a tip over goalkeeper Speer, Romsey equalised (2-2), and the game grew ever more tense.
The island dug-deep, giving all they had and pushed the opposition back into their own half. Despite a quick succession of short corners, in which the Romsey defence read Hoare’s dragflick attempts well, the island won another short corner. This time they changed tactics and a short slip right allowed Payne to score the winner (3-2) and bring the Hampshire Trophy home to the Island.
Full time: Isle of Wight Men’s XI 2-1 Romsey
Goals: Aaron Hoare (2) and Adam Payne (1).
Man-of-the-match: Aaron Hoare
