Coach left baffled by slump
Coach Paul Halfpenny has been left scratching his head at Newark Ladies’ Hockey 1sts recent performances, which has seen the team slump from promotion contenders to mid-table obscurity in the Midlands Two.
The team made a strong start, taking seven points from their first three games, but since then has won only one in eight.
Halfpenny said: “This season the target was promotion and we started well, but since then everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong.
“We have been dogged by injuries but I’m still trying to get my head around our recent poor form.”
Halfpenny is not worried about relegation despite Newark’s drop in form.
He said: “I am confident that we can turn this around, although we will probably have to win every game we play to get promoted. What we need to do is maintain the conveyor belt of players who go from the junior to senior sides, and the future is looking very bright in that respect.”
In contrast, Newark Men’s 1sts are enjoying a five-match unbeaten run that has seen them move up to third in the table.
Coach Sally Davies said: “The aim at the start of the season was to bring younger players into the first team so we didn’t really look at promotion this year.
“But the younger players have taken the step up quicker than we thought and everything is coming together nicely so the plan has gone out of the window because if we can maintain our present form then promotion is a possibility.”