Saxons targeting Plate glory

The Horntye Park Sports Complex-based hockey club will take on Middleton & Bognor in the final of the Sussex Plate at Worthing HC. Push-back is 1.30pm.

Coach Richard Harvey believes Saxons deserve some silverware. He said: "The guys have worked so hard, put in so much effort and you can see that in the way that five times we've snatched results in the last couple of minutes."

Runners-up Saxons finished eight places and 42 points better off than Middleton in South Hockey League Sussex Area - Division One, but their record against the West Sussex club was worse than it was against any other team.

Saxons were 4-2 winners in the home fixture on the opening day, but were held to a 3-3 draw at Middleton in the first game after the festive break, rustiness perhaps a factor on both occasions.

They will be without Paddy Cornish, George Eldridge, Tim Eldridge and John Morgan, but Harvey still feels Saxons have the players to make it 25 matches without defeat in all competitions this term.

He added: "I'm a little bit apprehensive - anything can happen in a one-off game - but we've got our regular back five which have been fantastic this season. With the core of the side we've got, I would hope it's not going to be a problem."

Saxons have knocked out Southwick and Penguin, the teams finishing third and fourth in their league, to get this far, while Middleton edged out lower grade St Francis 3-2 in the semi-finals.