A historic first: UKAF men win maiden England Hockey County Championship title
The UK Armed Forces men's hockey team have won the England Hockey County Championships, beating Lincolnshire in the final 2-2 on penalties.
The County Championships, England Hockey's longest running compeititon, consisted of teams from across the British Isles.
The UKAF men took on nine highly competitive sides on their way to the County Championships title.
The military side performed strongly in the pool stages, beating teams from both Shropshire and Yorkshire by 2-1, which was then followed by a narrow 2-1 defeat to the Isle of Man, setting up a tense final group match against Nottinghamshire.
With a display of resilience and composure, UKAF brought about a dramatic last-touch equaliser to make it 3-3 to finish second place in the pool, qualifying them for a place in the semi-finals.
It was there where they faced the top ranking team from the opposite pool, Warwickshire. In a fierce encounter, UKAF edged the Warwickshire side 3-2 to book their place in the final for the first time at the County Championships.
It was there where they faced Lincolnshire, who proved to be formidable opponents for UKAF.
After a tense and attritional battle, the game ended in a 2-2 draw, which meant the title would be decided by penalty strokes.
After holding their nerve under immense pressure, UKAF converted all five penalties before Lincolnshire fired their final attempt wide, sealing UKAF's first County Championship victory in their history.
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