ENGLAND Hockey’s Tier 2 KO Championships has been a tournament at which Jersey have excelled in recent years.
With a round two date at home to South Berkshire tomorrow, Tom Sibley and his side are determined to make yet another deep run into the national competition.
It has been a long wait since their thrilling 4-3 home victory against Sunbury & Walton Hawks back in October, but Sibley feels that Jersey are “well-prepared” for tomorrow’s clash.
“It has been quite a while since we played in the first round, but there has been loads of local hockey during that time.
“As well as some of the lads going away to compete in the EH Indoor Championships, which helps keep them sharp.
“Obviously we have not played much together as a unit of late, but we have trained hard and the squad is looking really good.
“We are missing a couple who are on holiday, but the replacements are strong, so we are feeling really positive about tomorrow.”
Regarding tomorrow’s opponents, Sibley continued: “As is often the case with this event, we don’t know much about South Berkshire.
“I know a couple of their players from my time playing in the UK, but we know very little generally about them.
“In some ways, we think it can help us. We can focus entirely on our game and executing, rather than get too caught up in analysing their strengths and weaknesses.”
Jersey boast a number of exciting youngsters who continue to star on the local hockey scene.
Ed Hodgson and Ben Heelis retain their spots after promising debuts in the previous round, while fellow teenage star Barney Aston is unfortunately unavailable for the clash.
Sibley and Co represent a melting pot of youth and experience, and the captain is conscious that opportunities to lift the famed Tier 2 KO Championship crown are running out for some of the Caesarean stalwarts.
“I have been in Jersey coming up to four years and we’ve always been at the quarter-final or semi-final stages since I’ve been playing,” he added.
“So for us, in some ways, that’s the bare minimum in terms of expectations.
“The dream and goal is to go a step further and reach the final and ultimately give ourselves a chance to win it.
“Myself and a few others in the team are only getting older, so the opportunity to win is decreasing for us as the years tick on.
“The Millars [Pete and Tom] are the most committed people in terms of training an availability.
“They drive the standards and have been around the squad for many years now.
“It is the commitment and experience that players like those two possess, that really inspire the next generation and having them around as role models can only help the younger lads to progress.”
From October’s first-round success, Edo van Eijden, Tiaan Kruger and Aston are all unavailable, with veteran Bobby Minty, Robbie Forrest and Chris Thomas stepping up as more than able replacements.
Jersey’s hat-trick hero and captain Tom Millar again leads the side, while Sibley, who also scored in round one, is also named for the challenge of South Berkshire.
The mainland side, formed as recently as 2016, defeated Fareham 6-4 at home in a high-scoring round one affair and the Jersey home guard will be hoping for plenty of fireworks tomorrow to see in 2025.
Action from Les Quennevais is set for a 2pm start.
Jersey Hockey to face South Berkshire: Ant Davies (GK), Ed Hodgson, Tom Sibley, Robbie Forrest, Nick Pearce, Bobby Minty, Alex Bolton, Chris Thomas, Pete Miller, Tom Bolton, Tom Millar (c), Sam Habin, Sam Dunstan, Ben Heelis, Jack Tait, Phil Cuming
