Ramsey Crookall Cronkbourne Bacchas A have been handed another home draw in the quarter-finals of the England Hockey Men’s Championships Tier 2, to be played at the NSC this Sunday at 1.15pm.

They have drawn Lindum 1s who currently play in North Hockey Men’s North Division One and have already been crowned champions of the league with 14 wins, two draws and three losses. Therefore, Bacchas know this will be their toughest game in the last few years on paper. They met Harrogate from this league last year and came out close winners against a team that currently sits midtable.

Former Bacchas player and current chairman Tim Leeming’s son Ben plays for Lindum and will have a lot of knowledge to pass onto his team-mates. The English side travel over to the island on Saturday night after an away game at Neston.

Bacchas will be buoyed by a convincing win against Valkyrs last weekend but will still look to improve on things from that game. They have been working on a number of things since that match and hope to improve these and put them into practice come Sunday.

Bacchas have lost a couple of key players this year but have some new talented youngsters coming through the ranks. Elliot Reid and Josh Riordan have performed well and are growing in confidence each and every game. The front three have found their feet in recent weeks after a slow start, netting 13 goals in the past two games.

Bacchas’ defensive record does look the stronger having only conceded seven goals in eight games but with Lindum’s attacking record at four goals a game, the Manx side will do well to keep this down.

With James Harrison unable to travel back to the island, Bacchas will have to fill the gap in the attacking midfield from the last round. The squad is looking forward to a very competitive and tough game.

Squad: Dave Whiting (GK), Jamie Brown (captain), George Harrison, Jonny Callow, Andrew Whiting, Gareth Craig, Chris Bass, Tony Bentley-Roberts, Paul Griffiths, Karl Moore, Craig Leece, John Gaydon, Martin Davies, Josh Riordan, Elliott Reid, Dominic Howard (GK).