A crowd of 146 watched a rampant Henley retain their title and be crowned Champions, with an emphatic 9-1 victory over a valiant Benhall, to complete an astonishing double winning season for the Hens.

Henley streamed forward from the first whistle, but a brave Benhall performance kept them out until the 18th minute when Field fired home off the inside of the post. 6 minutes later it was 2-0, Tejano with a brilliant 25 yard effort. The off pitch celebrations went into overdrive, when Liam Ablitt picked his spot on 28 minutes and Bruce completed a fantastic move with a fine finish only 2 minutes later to make it 4-0.

Benhall looked determined after the break, once again showing their mettle under extraordinary pressure, but after 62 minutes Field struck again to make it 5-0, bundling the ball home from inches out, after a fine run to the byline and cross from Bruce. Within a minute, only a phenomenal save from Taylor, kept George Ablitt’s rocket of a shot out, his brother Liam Ablitt hit the post almost immediately, Field forcing it home, but was correctly adjudged to be offside. However, it was only fair that Benhall got some reward for their efforts, and a fine finish, after some casual play at the back by Henley, took the score to 5-1.

Some good passing between George Ablitt and Van Oene, saw the ball laid off to Watling, who slid the ball into the bottom corner for 6-1, on 83 minutes Bradlaugh made it 7-1, elegantly passing the ball into the corner. After 88 minutes White struck with the goal of the game, smashing a volley into the top corner for 8-1, leaving Van Oene to complete the scoring, a great strike from the edge of the area to bring the final score to 9-1.

The trophy presentation saw much bubbly sprayed and even some red flares! As the double celebrations went on into the night, there are more than a few sore heads around Henley this morning.

Credit to Benhall, despite being down to the bare bones, they fielded a side full of keen youngsters, who showed pride and commitment to their club, all at Henley wish them well in Division 1 next season.

I’ll do an end of season report at some point later in the week, but what more can I say about this incredible team of players, managers and coaches, to go through an entire season only losing once in the league and once in the Senior Cup (and that to eventual victors Framlingham Town, Congratulations!) is a terrific achievement.

Retaining a league title, is much harder than winning it in the first place, every side you play, treats it as their cup final and gives it their all, as perfectly illustrated by Wickham Mkt, the only side who did beat us in the league, whose effort, skill and determination deservedly saw them triumph on the day. We’ve been pushed all the way by two great clubs, Halesworth Town and Ransomes Sports, who both can boast of excellent records this season, indeed, Halesworth in particular must wonder how they haven’t topped the league themselves, having gone unbeaten in the league since the season opener. Both are top sides and we’re sure to face a real battle again next season.