London side rule in the pool (From Enfield Independent)

London region Under-15 water polo side claim ASA Under-15 Inter Regional Water Polo title

10:00am Friday 1st February 2013 in Sport

There were celebrations for the London region Under-15 water polo side after they claimed the ASA Under-15 Inter Regional Water Polo title in Liverpool.

Players from London, including some of the brightest talents from clubs in Watford, Croydon, Beckenham and Enfield, easily won their first day qualification matches.

They dispatched the Wales side 25-1 before impressing with a 20-2 win over Scotland.

The London side continued their good form by defeating the North West side 12-2 and then beat the Eastern Region 20-3 to secure their place in the final.

They took on the North West region and the London team’s strength and depth proved enough to seal victory, with commanding centre back defender Ben Tinkler-Davis linking well with playmaker and captain Matthew Helps to lay the platform for the win.

Hamish Hudson and Charlie Briers both converted early goals to put London ahead and further strikes followed from Paul Botje and Freddie Pearson.

The determined wing play from Ross James, Kane Nurse and Robert Simpson created several chances to add to the scoring, while London were equally impressive in defence as Ed Morten and Issac Edey battled well.

Crucial saves were also made by both Karan Basu and Jamie Gulland, who shared the goalkeeping duties, to allow the London region to finish 10-3 winners and take the title in emphatic style.

Team manager Mickey Helps and coach Nick Buller said: “We knew we had one of the strongest squads the region has had for many years but the guys took nothing for granted and kept to the structure they had been practicing in training.

“Our biggest asset was the strength in depth of the squad, meaning we could make changes to the team at any time and still maintain the same high standard of water polo.”