The season is drawing to a close for all our teams here at Mill Farm and it has certainly been a success for all concerned!
The newest addition to our family, Fylde Hockey Club, have enjoyed an impressive campaign at their brand new home at Mill Farm, smashing through various targets, achieving promotions and lifting silverware!
Club Head Coach Adrian Metcalf, who joined the club almost 40 years ago, said: “The Club has made outstanding progress in our first season at Mill Farm.
“I’m immensely proud of all our teams this year, exceeding all expectations, and we are all looking forward to another successful season.
“Our two young England Ladies players also show how well we are developing talented players of the future.
“There has never been a time to get involved with the addition of new teams so why not join us!”
Ladies first…
2017/18 proved to be another very successful season for the Ladies teams.
The First Team returned to the National League (Investec Conference North) as North Premier League Champions.
The team retained their place in the division and with the announcement of the new structures for the EHL National League, next season they will play to either stay in the division or achieve a place in the new Division 1 North.
The first team now have the promise of at least two further seasons playing National League level.
The Second Team returned to the North Hockey League Division 2 North West as Champions of the Lancashire Central Women’s Hockey League and achieved their highest finish in the club’s history, placing fourth in a division dominated by first teams.
The Third Team achieved another target set by the Ladies club by finishing second in the LCWHL Division 1 and returning to the Premier Division for a second time. They remain the highest placed Third Team in the LCWHL.
The Fourth Team over-achieved their ambitions by securing promotion with a second place finish in Division 2, whilst also lifting the Lishman Cup! They are also the highest placed Fourth Team in the LCWHL.
Fylde Hockey Club are growing in strength every year and next season will be forming a new Ladies Fifth Team. Success has also spread across the junior levels this season with the Under-13s and Under-15s winning the LCWHL Leagues and entering the England Hockey Championships.
The Under-18 Girls reached the EH Quarter-Finals, whilst the Under-14s reached the EH North Regional Round.
Here’s how our Men’s Hockey teams got on…
After securing promotion to North West Division Three North last year and strengthening with a new coach Steve Williams, the First Team had high hopes for the new season.
They started strongly with a victory against local rivals Preston, sparking dreams of back-to-back promotions.
Following a rollercoaster season, the firsts recorded 12 victories from their 22 games, netting 60 goals to finish in a very respectable fourth place in the league, and will now be keen to push for promotion.
James Oakes finished as top goal scorer with 19, whilst Simon Major with 10 and Rob Jepson with 8.
The Second Team took a little time to get going in North West Division Five, however it wasn’t long until the team, jam-packed full of junior talent looking to progress both for club and county, registered their first win in emphatic fashion.
Results perhaps didn’t always reflect performances, although a sensational end to the season with five straight victories lifted the side into a well-deserved seventh place in the league standings. Eamon Hassoon led the goal charts with 13 strikes.
Exciting plans for expansion are in place over the summer with the Men’s Club looking at growing to four teams to compliment the fantastic work the Ladies teams have done this season.
