This weekend marks the dawn of a new era for Sutton Valence men’s hockey.

A player shortage has seen the club withdraw their 1st XI from South League Premier Division 2, leaving a team in Kent Area Division 1.

Player-chairman Lewis Mitchell said it hadn’t been an easy decision to withdraw the side, but it was the sensible thing to do given the circumstances.

He said: “The player base is just not there so we didn’t want to find ourselves getting to the stage, or the situation, where we were struggling to field a team on a weekly basis. It made sense to do it no matter how disappointed we all felt about it.

“We wanted to field a side in the highest level we could and our ambition in the future is to still do so, but you have got to think with your head and not your heart. We made the right decision.”

But Mitchell said it was not all doom and gloom.

He said: “We have now got a great opportunity to start afresh and build from the ground up as we have plenty of youngsters coming through the ranks."

They start at home against Old Williamsonians 2nds on Saturday.