Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Trebling of points the target
Canterbury men
Craig Boyne has set his Canterbury squad a target of securing nine to 12 points in the second half of the England Hockey Men’s League, Premier Division season, writes Mark Stokes. Canterbury went into the mid-season break next bottom – having taken just three points from their opening 10 matches – but skipper Boyne believes they have the potential to treble that tally when the season resumes at Holcombe on Saturday. Boyne, in his first season as skipper, said: “I’ve seen a massive difference in the team compared to the previous two seasons (when Canterbury again struggled up to Christmas before going on to avoid relegation). “Apart from (those seasons) not being overly enjoyable, we weren’t always as competitive as we would have liked but this season’s been a lot more enjoyable because we’ve had a shot at taking points in almost every game. “We’ve been unlucky in some games and punished for small lapses in others but for me, it’s super encouraging to know that if we play to our potential we can take points from any team in the league. “I’ll be looking for us to get nine to 12 points in the second half of the season which is achievable.” Former player David Mathews replaced Kwan Browne as men’s coach following the Trinidadian’s summer move to Hampstead & Westminster and Canterbury have also had to cope with the loss of several senior players, among them former skippers Tom Richford and Michael Farrer. That has led to a clutch of youngsters being given their opportunity in the top flight and Boyne said: “It’s great fun at the moment to see these young guys develop, people like James Oates (who has captained England’s under-18s) and Hamish Roberts, who has come from nowhere to make the England junior set-up. “It’s brilliant to see these guys getting their chance but sometimes you can forget some of them are still at school.”