Henley Men’s 1st XI were crowned as champions of South Central Premier Division 2 last weekend, following a 5-1 victory at home to Abingdon Men’s 1st XI.

Needing a point to secure first place in the table, Jonny Taylor (ex-teenage-sensation from Abingdon) opened the scoring for the amber and blues, pouncing on a loose ball in the Abingdon D, following Ed Foster’s saved drag flick. Henley added a second five minutes later through Geoff Joseph, expertly deflecting Rhys Joyce’s pinpoint reverse stick cross into the roof of the Abingdon net.

In a breathtaking first half, the home side added a third from another penalty corner – this time Tim Herbert deflecting Foster’s pass past the helpless Abingdon goalkeeper. The away side pulled a breakaway goal back just before the half-time break, but 3-1 was a commanding lead going into the second half.

The second half was played out in similar fashion to the first, with Henley dominating possession and territory. The side added a fourth goal after 50 minutes through Nick Catlin, drilling the ball into the net after some neat hockey down the right-wing including Andrew Seimann and Rhys Joyce.

At the other end, Henley goalkeeper Lee Rowe-Elliott was in inspired form, saving anything which came his way, leading to a man-of-the match performance.

The icing on the cake was applied five minutes before the final whistle by captain Ed Foster, scoring this 26th goal of the season, dispatching a drag flick into the bottom corner of the Abingdon goal.

The 5-1 win was Henley’s ninth win in a row, with the side winning nine of their 10 matches in the second half of the season and only drawing the other. Credit to everyone in the side who showed great determination over the course of the season, and Grant Hunt, Henley’s coach, whose commitment and coaching through the season was invaluable to the side.