Mitcham win British Korfball National League
Mitcham have won the British Korfball Association (BKA) National
League Premier Division, after a 9-9 draw with second-placed
Invicta Sharks in their final match of the season. The south
London team finish on 26 points with a league record of 12
wins, two draws and no defeats, three points clear of both
Invicta and third-placed London club Trojans.
Mitcham had originally thought that they had sealed the league
title two weeks ago, when Invicta Sharks slipped up 11-10
against Trojans in their penultimate match, meaning that Mitcham
were too far ahead to catch. However, Invicta had then submitted
a complaint to the BKA, due to the venue scoreboard giving
incorrect information about the amount of time remaining in
the match, meaning that Mitcham’s champagne was put
back on ice. In the end, today’s result means that,
even if the BKA had accepted Invicta’s appeal and allowed
the Trojans match to be replayed, it would still not be possible
for Mitcham to be caught, meaning that the title has been
decided in the best way – on the pitch.
Mitcham found themselves trailing 6-5 at half-time after
several unforced errors in the first half, but regrouped to
establish a 9-8 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the match.
However, after Invicta equalised with five minutes remaining,
there were no further goals and the match finished level,
securing both the title for Mitcham and second place for Invicta.
At the other end of the table, Epsom-based club Nomads won
the winner-takes-all battle 18-11 against relegation rivals
Croydon, to condemn Croydon to Division 1. Nomads will still
have to play a promotion-relegation playoff against Division
1 runners-up Cambridge, although history is on their side
as the higher division team has always won this playoff ever
since it was introduced. One team who will definitely be playing
in the Premier Division next season is Kent team Kingfisher,
after being crowned champions of Division 1. This means that
the county of Kent will boast three representatives in the
Premier Division next season.
In the weekend’s remaining Premier Division games,
Trojans defeated Kwiek 15-10 but still just missed out on
the division’s runners-up spot, and in a mid-table battle,
Bec defeated Nottingham 21-16.
These final standings mean that Invicta and Trojans will
compete in the 2006 Europa Shield in the autumn (korfball’s
equivalent of the UEFA Cup), while Mitcham, 2005 Europa Shield
winners, will compete in the 2007 Europa Cup (equivalent of
the Champions’ League).
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