Old Georgians Complete Domestic Double With Tier 1 Cup Final Victory

Old Georgians completed a domestic double by defeating Oxted 3-0 in the Men's Tier 1 Championship final at Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre.

Dan Shingles, James Tindall and Ed Carson netted for the EHL Premier Division champions, whose goalkeeper George Pinner enjoyed a day to remember having received a presentation at half-time in England's men's game against South Africa for his sterling years of international service.

Pinner's opposite number Sam Williams was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the first quarter, producing a superb double save to deny Old Georgians from a penalty corner – Ed Carson kept out at point-blank range on the rebound.

Williams then stuck out a foot to prevent Tom Carson but he could do nothing to stop Shingles popping up in the right place at the right time to divert Ashley Jackson’s strike home following a penalty corner late in the quarter.

There was still time for an Oxted attack before the buzzer but Chris Webster couldn’t quite turn home during a goalmouth scramble as Old Georgians kept hold of their lead.

They almost added to it in the 20^th minute, James Carson denied by Williams before Tom Carson smashed the rebound narrowly over from an angle.

The latter then found himself through on goal following a mistake in the Oxted defence but a combination of pressure from the goalkeeper and backtracking defenders meant he couldn’t get a clean strike away.

Old Georgians thought they had doubled their lead with less than a minute remaining in the first half when James Tindall turned home from close range but following consultation between the officials, the goal was ruled out for an infringement in the build-up.

Tindall was not to be denied with six minutes of the third quarter remaining, however, turning home from similarly close range after the initial effort had been kept out by Williams to give his side a valuable cushion.

Oxted’s Nick Giles was unfortunate to see his reverse stick shot saved by George Pinner after some determined work down the right but his side’s hopes of a fightback were extinguished shortly into the final quarter when Ed Carson notched a third.

Earlier in the day, Sam Mayhew’s first-half strike secured the Men’s Tier 4 Championship trophy for University of Nottingham 5ths, who overcame Penzance 1-0 in a hard-fought final.

The early morning start did not dampen a lively atmosphere around the Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre, with both sides well backed by vocal travelling supporters.

The University side came close to giving their fans something to cheer 10 minutes in, captain Robbie Warburton firing narrowly over on the reverse.

Penzance battled hard to repel a string of early attacks and created an excellent chance themselves on 25 minutes when Brogan Donnelly was played through on goal, only to shovel his effort wide after attempting to round the goalkeeper.

Mayhew fired a warning shot from a penalty corner in the 28th minute, a deflected effort going just wide, and he was not to be denied four minutes later as the deadlock was broken – the deflection this time going in his favour as his shot trickled agonisingly out of Will Collins’ reach.

The Cornish outfit came close to a leveller midway through the second half when a fine pass from Kieran Bowden released Josh Drew, who saw his shot saved by Ben Lewis’ outstretched foot with the rebound just evading Donnelly.

William Hunt and Finn Edwards had chances to double Nottingham’s advantage and they had to dig deep late on to secure the silverware, with Bowden and Josh Williams both seeing efforts saved inside the final minute.