High flying start banishes bad memories

It seems like only recently that Haverhill Hockey Club were on the wrong end of a thrashing every week and captain Tina Bunch was bemoaning that they had 'forgotten how to win'. After struggling to survive in the East Women's League Division Two Division NW in the 2009-10 season they were duly relegated from Division Two NE following a regional reshuffle before the 2010-11 campaign. The year before had seen a last-gasp winner ensure their survival - and that only after another team withdrew from the league, nullifying other results - yet the romance was absent at the second attempt as Haverhill were relegated before the season's conclusion. It was certainly a dispiriting time as the endless battle to avoid relegation was finally lost and Haverhill were condemned to the Suffolk Premier League.

How spirits have changed since then. Now Haverhill have gone from being the whipping boys (or girls, even) to being the whippers themselves. Their record so far reads played six, won six, scored 34 and conceded six - so, on average, for every goal they concede, they score 5.6. Haverhill top the table with a three point lead and a game in hand over second placed Bury St Edmunds II. Not a bad start for a team deflated by the loss of relegation, and the season had barely begun when Bunch was brashly proclaiming that she expected her team to finish as champions.

Yet as the season unfolds - we are now almost a third of the way through (six games played of 20) - it seems that those ambitions were not naive, and that Haverhill could be confirmed as champions this season sooner than they were confirmed as relegated last season. They began with a comprehensive 6-2 rout of Bury St Edmunds II (September 17) and have continued in similar form, labouring to a 4-3 win at Ipswich IV (September 24) before enjoying their most comfortable win yet, sticking 11 past a sorry Christchurch II outfit (October 1). After a week off they crushed Felixstowe 4-1 (October 15), 'struggled' to a 4-0 win at Ipswich-based Castaways (October 22) before thumping Lowestoft II 5-0 (October 29). Saturday's (November 5) game is off as fourth-placed Harwich and Dovercourt are unable to field more than six players, meaning Haverhill are awarded a 3-0 win as a home walkover - the only disappointment being that they probably would have won by more than three had the two teams met.

It has been a winning start that has been transformed into the winning season Bunch was hoping for and expecting. The skipper has even been critical of her side's performance after winning 4-0 (at Castways), calling for them to improve further - something that seems a far cry from last season. It seems no team in this division has provided serious competition for Haverhill this season, which brings into question the quality of the league. After all, how can a team losing heavily each week suddenly become the team inflicting rout after rout? Is the drop in quality so great that the EML's basement side can become a completely dominating presence in the Suffolk league? It is a worry, as if this is the case it may see Haverhill back to where they were last season - if they become accustomed to playing such poor opposition, then there is a chance that standards will drop and, when they are (seemingly inevitably) promoted back to the EML, that they will not be prepared for the rise in standards and be unable to deal with the vastly superior teams. I have put this to Bunch on several occasions, but she does not seem too concerned.

That is because she takes the more optimistic view - that her side have become better, and not merely that the competition have got worse. Clearly there is a strength in depth that was lacking last season - after all, it is not merely Bunch's team that are cruising to promotion, but Haverhill II have also launched a perfect start in Suffolk Division One, their 3-0 win over Bury St Edmunds III on Saturday, October 29, (pictured here) the latest of their five successive wins, scoring 16 goals (3.2 per game) and conceding five in the process as they approach the half-way stage of their seven-strong league (seven games remaining). Their results have often been tighter - beating Grasshoppers II 2-0 (September 17), Lowestoft III 1-0 (September 24), Sudbury III 4-2 (October 1) and Ipswich V 6-3 (October 8) - but they still have a perfect start, and clearly a large pool of talent is available if Haverhill can field two teams capable of bossing their respective divisions.

Bunch's team also seems to have been boosted by the returns of absentees who had been away at university, injured or for maternity reasons, and now they are looking and increasingly strong outfit, scoring from all over the pitch rather than struggling to score from anywhere. Vicky Haylock and Mandy Williamson are both regularly getting on the scoresheet, and Bunch herself is frequently finding the net often too. Many players names are cropping up in relation to strong performances and scoring goals, such as assists from Jane Farrow and Jenni Bradnam and good displays from Kim Thomas and Helen Salter.

Among the second XI, Cara Ainsworth and Emma Hilson seem to be regularly among the goals, while Kate Ellis and Lisa Smith have performed well between the posts, and the strength of that side, with players struggling to force a way into the first XI, is a testament to the depth of talent now available. Bunch has said that players will get opportunities in the first XI, but at present there is clearly no need to disrupt two winning formulas. Availability continues to be good, despite there being just 12 players at the Lowestoft II game - last season saw a struggle to even field a second XI.

Things are looking good for both teams, though perhaps we will have to wait until next season to see if their successes can be attributed to improvement or deterioration of the competition. I think it is probably a combination of the two - the Suffolk leagues clearly are lower quality, but at the same time Haverhill have improved markedly from last term. Availability alone improves a squad, giving coach and captain more options to prove from. Both sides have acquired a sense of youthfulness, and both are clearly enjoying their winning ways. While the opponents may be worse, it can still be difficult to reverse a losing mentality into a winning one, and that has been achieved emphatically. Both Haverhill sides should assure promotion before the end of their campaigns, and if both can keep their squads intact, should offer a strong challenge when they do take the step up a division.