Brighton men on their EHL challenge and future plans for the club

Rod Gilmour from The Hockey Paper speaks to Brighton & Hove HC ahead of their season opener in the Men’s Division one South.

“At least it means there is someone older than me,” jokes Joe Naughalty, Brighton & Hove HC’s player coach who is set to come up against Southgate’s Kwan Browne this weekend in their Men's Division 1 South opener.

Both have had busy and contrasting international summers, Browne as England men’s assistant coach while Naughalty was due to play for Wales at the Commonwealth Games. However, on the eve of the Opening Ceremony, Naughalty tore a muscle in his rib in a warm-up game against South Africa and was cruelly ruled out of the tournament.

“There was no way I could play even with any injections. It was a tough one to take at the time,” he admitted.

The injury has now healed to schedule and Naughalty, 35, hopes to be fit to play on Sunday while he doesn’t yet know if his opposite number Browne, 44, will be lining up for Southgate or coach from the sidelines after his move from Hampstead & Westminster over the summer. 

“It should be a great game,” Naughalty said of the season opener. “We got the best of them last season and potentially the best time to play them will be this first weekend. The pressure will be on but if we are on our game we can battle with the best of them.”

The week before their penultimate game last season. England Hockey announced league regulation changes, meaning that second from bottom Brighton’s survival would be guaranteed with a win over Southgate. Goal-hungry Naughalty duly scored the winner with a second-half corner strike, while Brighton also hit the post twice and saw a shot cleared off the line.

Victory ensured a ninth season in the National League - they dramatically avoided relegation in 2014 after their promotion - with Naughalty into his second season as player-coach, following the long tenure of departed coach Jon Royce.

“Jon is such a big character, there needed to be a change of style and personnel after he left,” said Naughalty, who is also head of hockey at Ardingly College. “We have historically been a tough team to play against. My style is an attacking and fun brand of hockey and so it’s a hybrid of the two.

“Brighton is an amazing club in terms of family and community. We are a bit of a sleeping giant potentially. We are picking up more players and word is getting out in the local area of what we are trying to build.”

Indeed, press officer David Chappell says Brighton is a 'big community club,' with nine men’s and eight women’s teams, coupled with 14 age group teams.

As with many clubs with a modern-looking vision, Brighton also have a long-term ambition to find a new home - they are currently based at Blatchington Mill School in Hove - complete with their own clubhouse and facilities 'to match its status as a national league club.'

While London clubs battle for top status, Brighton hope to one day rival the likes of East Grinstead and Holcombe in the south. “We are fighting that battle a little bit but we are a team which doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on players and we have made that clear,” admitted Naughalty.

“We are trying to sell the value of the squad we are trying to create. We could easily spend in the short-term and get ahead of ourselves but for us it’s building the culture first.”

There are several changes in the Brighton team for this 2022/23 season. Having retired back in 2015 due to injury, Naughalty made his return to the Welsh senior squad in the summer of 2018 while he has also coped with Epilepsy which, he says, is a controlled part of his day to day life.

On the pitch, the Sussex team will once again be relying on Naughalty for the goals - he was pivotal in helping Wales qualify for a first Men's World Cup and hopes to make the squad for the early 2023 tournament - after the club also lured players from the likes of Eastbourne and Horsham.

Naughalty will be aided by assistant Jon Williams, a Scottish Masters player who also coaches the US indoor team, while the team will be captained for a second year by teacher Adam Flett.

“We have never been totally comfortable in the league and it will be a challenge,” added Chappell, “but we are a young, evolving team and we are certainly well prepared.”

Sunday: Brighton & Hove v Southgate, 1pm