TWO Bradford area teams have qualified for the boys' under-16 national hockey indoor finals next month in the West Midlands.

Ben Rhydding won the Northern qualifier at Outwood Grange Academy in Wakefield, beating Bradford, who also qualified, in the final.

It is the first time that Bradford have qualified in nine years, and their group campaign began with a 2-1 defeat to Ben Rhydding, despite Bradford dominating.

However, the latter then found their scoring touch, beating newcomers Thirsk 9-1 and, in a crucial game, a very competent Preston 4-2 to qualify for the semi-finals.

There Bradford met Deeside, who had won the other group, Bradford merging 5-3 winners in a contest of no little skill, effort and determination.

Having climbed that mountain, however, and knowing that they had already qualified, Bradford lost the final 5-2 to Ben Rhydding, which was a little harsh on the runners-up.

Scorers for Bradford were Matthew Wilson (6), Matthew White (4), Seb Shaw (3), Charlie Sorton (3) and Ethan Kensett (2), while Tyler Illingworth, Jordan Hardaker and Esa Naseem played without scoring.

Guiding them from the sidelines were head coach Stuart Harrison and Esa's dad Khalid, who was a notable indoor player.