Wimbledon Hockey Club’s Suzy Petty says the club are hoping pop superstar Ed Sheeran will prove to be their good luck charm as they push for promotion to the Investec Women’s Hockey Premier Division this month.
The ‘Galway Girl’ singer, whose girlfriend Cherry Seaborn is Petty’s team-mate, watched on as Wimbledon clinched the Conference East title and secured a play-off place by crushing Northampton Saints 10-0 last month.
Sheeran even gave the team a pep talk following the win and Petty says it is great to have him supporting them whenever his busy schedule permits, with the two-time Grammy award winner expected to be at the League Finals Weekend on April 22-23.
“It’s brilliant having Ed around,” the England and Great Britain midfielder said.
“He actually sat us down after the game and told us to celebrate hard but that we also have to work hard as we have a big job ahead of us!
“We see him as just another player’s boyfriend really – when I saw the Great Britain girls earlier this week they couldn’t believe he was there.
“He is really cool though and his support is great – he’s going to be at the League Finals Weekend as well and we can’t wait to see him there.”
Wimbledon’s domination of Northampton was a true team effort, with seven different players on the scoresheet, although former Great Britain star Crista Cullen stole the headlines with a superb hat-trick.
The team now face a round robin tournament to decide who will take the final spot in the top tier next season, starting with an away fixture at Brooklands Poynton this weekend.
They will play their final two matches against Bowdon Hightown and Buckingham alongside the men’s 1 st XI – who will be battling to retain their Premier Division title – during the League Finals Weekend at the Lee Valley Centre in Stratford.
Despite victory against Northampton seeming like a foregone conclusion before the game, Petty says it was crucial to end the season in winning fashion and head into the play-offs in the best possible form.
The 24-year-old said: “It was a bit of relief to beat Northampton to be honest.
“But it was brilliant, we are really happy but now the hard work starts as we build up towards the play-offs starting in a couple of weeks.
“Obviously confidence is high, especially after winning 2-1 the week before against Hampton and Westminster as they are a really tough side.
“I was at the finals last year watching and it was brilliant, the atmosphere was fantastic.
“Our boys are going to be there as well fighting for their title so it’s a good weekend for the club.”
Featured image courtesy of Mark Kent, with thanks
