WE TRAVELLED to Cardiff last Sunday to clinch the first trophy of the season, as winners of the NIHL South League.

The fans who travelled with us celebrated long after the final buzzer, the home team generously leaving the ice for our fans and players to enjoy the success together.

It’s been an exciting rivalry this season with Peterborough.

Last weekend we had to win both our games and have a superior goal difference.

We did most of the heavy lifting on Saturday when we beat Invicta by 10 goals to one.

Throughout the game, fans were checking on how Peterborough were doing.

They had gone into an early four goal lead, but were pulled back by Streatham and that game ended 6-4 .

We now had a superior goal difference. Any win on Sunday would give us the title. We won 8-1.

So the fans were following two games on Saturday, one on the ice and the other on their phones.

The players, however, kept their focus on putting together the best 60 minutes of hockey that they could.

If we did that, the goals would come.

We left the fans to worry about the constantly changing maths.

In our last away game against Peterborough, when we were short-benched, our captain Aaron Connolly scored the vital goal in the last few minutes of the game to keep our chances of taking the title alive.

At the beginning of the season, our heads would go down if we gave up a goal. As the season went on, we learned how to win.

The senior players were helping the younger players to become more confident.

Of course there’s talent in the team, but most important is their character and grit.

Come and see them receive the trophy this Saturday.