East Grinstead: Kings of indoor hockey as they make quest for the cup

By lpoynton

East Grinstead's quest for the cup is setting them on course to become a major force in international hockey.

They won the National Indoor League title for the fourth consecutive year at the weekend to qualify for finals night at Nottingham on January 31.

Their victory on finals night last year qualified them for Europe, and as a result Grinstead will fly the flag for England at next month's European Indoor Club Champions Trophy in Vienna.

This is their first visit to the European indoor format of the game since 2007 when they won promotion, but were unable to play at the next level the following year having lost their subsequent domestic finals to Canterbury, who took their place.

Last weekend, Grinstead went through the second weekend of the league competition unbeaten to win by six clear points, eight wins from eight games, and scoring 79 goals with a goal difference of plus 59.

They scored 35 more goals than runners-up Loughborough Students and achieved all this without three key players - Ashley Jackson, Glenn Kirkham and Adam Harper - who were helping England win promotion to the top tier of European international indoor hockey at the Nations Trophy in Poland.

Grinstead now head to the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham at the end of the month, aiming to retain their title which would secure them a place in Europe in 2011.

"We want to be the engineers of our own destiny. We are firmly in the driving seat and if we can secure a place in Europe for next year, all that relates to whatever we do in Vienna in a month's time," said manager Matt Jones.

The international trio will be back for finals night, but Jones insisted they have their feet firmly on the ground.

"We are over the moon to have made good a situation that looked pretty lost a week ago when the second round of games were postponed.

"The new date meant we lost three international players and that was a major blow, but then Reading were without four for the same reasons," said Jones.

"We did think that might damage us, but the depth and talent we have in the squad, allowed us to play some outstanding hockey."

The 12-strong squad is bursting with talent at every position, and Jones admitted the biggest concern now will be how to use that expertise on finals night.

"With only six players on at any one time, we really need to be on our game, to be able to use those resources well," he added.

"The management team have been around the block a few times, the players have been together for some time. Their experience and subliminal qualities, intuition and ultimate determination will make Richard Organ's [coach] job a bit easier."