The indoor season in England reaches a climax this weekend as East Grinstead men go in search of their seventh consecutive title and East Grinstead women seek to join them as indoor champions. For the hundreds of fans packing the SSE Wembley Arena on Sunday, the excitement surrounding this year’s Hockey 5s is hitting fever pitch, as the last teams standing prepare to do battle in the climax to the English indoor hockey season.
Wembley Arena is a fitting location for this exciting event. Located in north London, next to the iconic Wembley football pitch, the Arena has been home to sporting events since it was built in 1934 to house the British Empire Games - later known as the Commonwealth Games. Seating 12,500 people, the Arena was refurbished in 2006 and is the second biggest indoor arena in the capital city after the O2 arena.
A full house is expected for the women’s final and the men’s semi-finals and final. It will be a day of stiff competition with reigning champions East Grinstead men challenged by Sevenoaks, Reading and Canterbury, all seeking to spoil the party; while Bowdon Hightown will be hoping to banish memories of last year’s finals, where they crashed to a 9-2 defeat at the hands of Reading.
In the women’s final, not only will East Grinstead need a ploy to stop the league’s top goal scorer Sally Walton from hitting the mark, they will also need to find a way past the athletic Amy Tennant in goal for Bowdon Hightown. Former Great Britain international Tina Cullen said: “In the semi-final against Canterbury, Amy was brilliant. She saved three certain goals in the first half and then at the end she kept us in it. She’s played superbly all year but that was her best performance. Canterbury said she was awesome.”
