Holcombe 4 Lewes 0

HOLCOMBE men won the club’s first ever National League title on Saturday.

At the first attempt in National Premier 3 the Rochester side cruised to their fourth consecutive championship with a comfortable 4-0 home win over Lewes.

A double from Denzil Dolly and one apiece from Steve Haines and top scorer Greg Nicol meant that with two games remaining Holcs could not be caught.

They reaffirmed their status as champions the following day with a 5-3 win away to Indian Gymkhana.

Team manager Mike Haines said: "Like most matches against this team it was quite physical with bags of incidents.

"The first half was tight with us taking the lead through Nicol and them equalising with a short corner of their own. They then missed a flick before Steve Friend scored 90 seconds before the break.

"Our keeper Andy Carney made some super saves in the second half and we put in a workmanlike performance with further goals from Dolly, Nicol and Kevin Johnson to deservedly win the game."

He added: "Everything is a first. First time playing at this level and a first National League title for the club, so we are delighted.

"We had a five-year plan and it’s going well. After the merger with Rochester & Gillingham we missed out on winning the league the first year, finishing second to Tunbridge Wells, but since then we have won four on the bounce."

But unlike previous years, at this level promotion is not automatic and Holcs have to travel to Beeston HC in Nottingham for the play-offs on May 7-8.

Haines said: "We will play the eighth-placed team from Division 2. We don’t know who that will be as there are four or five teams who could still finish in that position, so we will just have to wait and see."