Horsham Hockey Club captain so proud of her invincibles

With the Sussex Premier title and promotion already in the bag, a 4-3 win over East Grinstead saw them end the campaign without a single defeat.

Skipper Rachel Humphreys said: “Some games were tough and didn’t go according to plan but with the strength and belief within the team we were able to get the results we needed and being undefeated makes the success so much sweeter. Overall it has been a huge team effort from start to finish with every outfield player appearing on the score sheet.”

Hosts Horsham started strongly and soon took control of the game, passing the ball around the defence and midfield with ease and making several promising attacks.

With strong link-up play from Sue Crake and Fran Crossley down the right hand side of the pitch, the first goal came from a rebound, Yvonne Grout slotting in to put the home side in front.

East Grinstead stepped up the pressure and responded with a counter attack to equalise five minutes later, and in a high octane end to the half the visitors scored from a short corner to go into the break 2-1 up.

Horsham restarted with determination and Natalie Howarth soon levelled the scores, but as the game began to get heated East Grinstead once more took the lead.

Facing a first defeat of the campaign, the hosts responded with gusto and Crossley made it 3-3 when she nutmeged the keeper from a short corner. The home defence of Steph White, Grout and Claire Illingworth then had to stand firm and with five minutes to go some excellent build-up play from Roz Keefe and Jill Ireland set up Becca McDowell to score the winner.

The result sees the unbeaten ladies finish as champions to gain promotion to the South 3b League for next season.

The dominant ladies won the Sussex Premier title at a canter and sealed their promotion into the South 3b league for the 2013/14 season. The side won 17 of their 18 league matches, drawing the other, and scored 99 goals while conceding only 14. Top scorers were Sue Crake, Fran Crossley and Becca McDowell with 52 goals between them. Capping an excellent year for Horsham Hockey Club, the Horsham Hotstars girls team also won their league.

Capping what has been a great year for Horsham Hockey Club, the Girls under-14 Hot Stars side also won their league.