Canterbury Ladies player-coach Jen Wilson has played down the significance of the first ever Kent hockey derby in Investec National Premier Division.

Wilson admits Holcombe’s promotion through the divisions to reach the top-flight for the first time this season “is good for hockey in the county” but says to her squad, who finished top of the table last season, “it’s just another game.”

The city club began their campaign with a 5-2 win at former champions Beeston while Holcs made a winning start in the top-flight with a 3-0 win against Bowdon Hightown which left the the Kent sides first and second ahead of their first top-flight meeting at 6pm on Saturday in Medway.

Wilson said: “We’d have taken that result to start the season. It’s a new season, new team, a couple of new players, we were focusing on the things we worked on in pre-season and the girls were able to implement them from pretty early on, which was good.”

All five goals came from products of Canterbury Junior Hockey Club and Wilson admitted: “It’s good to see and shows the quality of the youngsters coming through that they are able to now step-up and deliver for us in these crucial games.

“We’re lucky that we have a successful junior section and they are nurtured well. We’re reaping the rewards now as a club.”

Ahead of the trip to face a star-studded team featuring a host of GB internationals, Wilson said: “They have made progress over the past couple of seasons and have acheived their goal of getting into the Premier Division now.

“We’re looking forward to a competitive match but to us it’s just another Premier League game. We will prepare as we would do against any other team we have not played before.”

She added: “It’s good for hockey in Kent to have two teams in the Premier Division and for the youngsters and spectators coming to watch to have access to more top quality players playing down here.”