The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
City face a tough campaign without many familiar faces
Hockey - The competitive season starts this weekend
City of Peterborough will have to overcome a mass player exodus to succeed in the 2020-21 National League season.
The city side open their Division One North campaign against Olton & West Warwicks at Bretton Gate on Sunday (2pm) without several of the players who performed heroics to keep them in the second tier of the English Hockey League.
Inspirational captain Ross Booth will be the biggest loss. The classy midfielder has left theclubafternineyears, eight of themascaptain, to concentrate on his farming commitments.
It wasalsoa100-mileround trip to home games for Booth who was joined on those journeys by another gifted midfield player, Ben Read. Read has also left City.
Others to depart include speedy attacking star Adam Wilson and fellow forwards Ross Ambler and Sam Blunt, as well as defender Jordan Heald who has taken up a teaching post in Spain.
Wilson’s departure is a disappointment as he started playing at Bretton Gate as a youngster in the club’s mini hockey programme. The fact he’s joined local divisional rivals Cambridge City will add to the pain.
City avoided the drop last seasoneventhoughtheywere
in a relegation place with one match to go when the coronavirus ended play early.
City still had a strong chanceof survival, something League officials took into account when keeping them in Division One, a fine achievement as it was the first taste of this standard in the club’s history.
Joe Finding will skipper City this season, but there remain many uncertainties
about the amount of play that will be possible.
Five of the 10 teamsinDivision One North are University based and it’s unclear what Covid-19 restrictions regarding travel will be in place for students.
The playing strength of the student teams will also be hard to gauge.
CityaredueinWalestoface Cardiff Met in their second fixture on October 4, which could present further problems with the regulations in the Principality changing regularly.
Deeside Ramblers are the new team in Division One North.
They’ve replaced the University of Durham who were promoted to the Premier League. No team was relegated.
Division One North: Bowdon, Cambridge City, Cardiff & Met, City of Peterborough. DeesideRamblers, Loughborough Students, Olton & West Warwicks, Sheffield Hallam, UniversityofBirminghamand University of Nottingham.
The East League season starts on Saturday with local clubs BourneDeeping, Spalding, March, Long Sutton and Wisbechallrepresentedalong with 12 City of Peterborough teams (eight men and four ladies).