Aldershot & Farnham head coach Ian Jennings was delighted with his side’s efforts after they beat Sittingbourne 4-0 in his final match in charge on Saturday.

“I made it very clear that we all wanted to finish on a high as we have worked so hard to maintain fourth in the league and secure an increase of five points compared to last season,” said Jennings. “We were the only team to take points off the champions, Tunbridge Wells, with a win and a draw against them – which was no mean feat.

“Our attitude was that we really wanted to produce as high a level as we could, maintaining our structure and composure. In the reverse fixture we were very rushed and started to go route one, and it was from that game that we needed to have a continual belief in the system we play to continue to produce good chances until the final whistle.

“It was a shame the pitch was so dry which didn’t help the flow of the game, but I was very happy with our attitude and the spirit we tried to play the game in. For the first time this season I was able to field a full-strength squad and it certainly helped us keep up the relentless pressure we were exerting on Sittingbourne. The goals came at timely intervals, but we would have been disappointed we didn’t score more goals.

“It would be fair to say there were some emotional scenes when the final whistle went as it signalled the end of an era and a fantastic journey we have all shared together. I’m immensely proud of the guys, and despite difficult circumstances at times, they have stuck to the task and produced some very attractive, fast attacking hockey, which was hopefully pleasing to those that came to support us. I’d like to say thank you to all the guys for their professionalism and support.”

Aldershot and Farnham’s men’s first team (A&F) finished their second season in the South East Men’s Premier Division by taking on Sittingbourne at Heath End. Sittingbourne were in a precarious position at the start of the game, still unsure of their survival, whereas A&F were looking for the win that would see them reach the 40-point barrier.

Sittingbourne were reluctant to press A&F from the off, putting in a low half-court press to try to hit A&F on the counter. A&F started the game well. Much of the early period was played in Sittingbourne’s half, but A&F couldn’t make the breakthrough – the visiting goalkeeper twice making decent saves from Scott Perry.

The constant pressure A&F were piling on Sittingbourne then told. A well-won foul in the opposition D gave A&F a penalty corner. Perry fired the drag flick low for Will Caine who deflected the ball high into the roof of the net. A&F doubled their lead shortly afterwards. Tom Herring intercepted a Sittingbourne 16-yard restart and rolled the ball into the Sittingbourne D for Stu Morhall to run on to and smash home first time to make it 2-0.

A&F couldn’t add to their lead in the run up to half-time, instead finding themselves a player down. Daan Barron was the one penalised for not retreating five yards from a free hit, earning himself a green card. But even with the player advantage, Sittingbourne couldn’t make any inroads and it remained 2-0 as the whistle went.

Back to a full complement of players for the second half, A&F put Sittingbourne under the cosh. Another penalty corner allowed Perry to score his 25th goal of the season, his resulting drag flick finding the net via a deflection off a defender’s stick to make it 3-0.

Sittingbourne were reduced to ten, but A&F kept ahead in the card count as Terry Kynaston was carded for a foul during a Sittingbourne counter attack. That wouldn’t last long, though, as Sittingbourne’s robust style of play led to more cards for dissent and poor tackles. Perry completed the scoring when he rifled a quick shot into the bottom corner to wrap up A&F’s season with a 4-0 win.

By Kevin McCafferty