The University of East London’s Men’s Hockey Team take on the University of Chichester’s Second Team in the Round of 32 Stage of the BUCS Hockey South Eastern Conference Plate on Wednesday at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Stratford.
The University of Chichester have had a mixed bag of results in the South Eastern 4A division, winning just one of their three league matches. After losing their opening match to the University of Reading’s Fourth Team, they thrashed Brunel University’s Second Team 6-2 before narrowly losing 4-3 to the University of Roehampton’s First Team. However UEL are relishing the prospect of facing the side, according to number 13 winger Robert Wheeler.
“I’m looking forward to it, it’s going to be a tough game. They have got a very strong side but it will be great to progress in the cup. So hopefully we will win,” Wheeler said.
UEL’s Hockey Captain Sam McGrath implied that the side will approach the cup game as per a usual fixture and hope for a positive outcome.
“We are going into the game just like every other, with an intensity to try and get a result and enjoy the game. We take every game seriously,” McGrath said.
Silverware
Wheeler indicated that remaining in the league was the side’s main concern but also believed that the team have the credentials to go all the way in the cup tournament and win the competition:
“Staying in the league is our main priority but a cup run is also very important; we would love a cup run and have every chance of winning silverware”.
UEL are still without a win this season in the BUCS South Eastern 4B division and come into the match with the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 17 goals from just three matches.
However McGrath suggested that despite a lack of players, recent results have highlighted signs of improvement.
Negatives
“The effort from the boys was there [against Greenwich] but we are still gelling as a team and there were a lot of positives from the game on Wednesday. The negatives were worked on in training. I don’t think heads went down in the game against Greenwich it was just a lack of subs which caused fatigue across the team,” McGrath added.
UEL have only scored three goals in as many matches this season and when asked whether their attacking ambition was an aspect need to improve, Wheeler replied, “I feel sorting out at the back is the biggest priority. We’ve shown that we can score goals. Against Greenwich we scored from our first attack. So I think we just need to sort out the back.”
