Winchester 1st XI celebrated their Division 1 South League Championship, won the previous week with a 3-2 win over Chichester 2nd XI, with an eighteenth win of the season in their twenty-two competitive games.

As was the case the previous week, the team had to come from a goal behind, scored early in the first half by a determined Bournemouth outfit. It took the majority of the first half for Winchester to draw level, a hailstorm providing a five-minute break to gather their thoughts, with Kieran Malloy driving home from a direct penalty corner strike. Malloy with two rasping reverse strikes, well saved before the break, was the main attacking force with 30-goal Ben Hibberd hindered by hamstring issues.

Malloy was on-target again as the game recommenced with further penalty corner success, benefitting from a clever routine which took Winchester into the lead. 

Bournemouth had plenty of opportunities to get back into the game, and potentially ahead, with a succession of corners but keeper Birch was only obliged to save one effort. Despite their lead, Winchester were anxious to add to their score with defenders Matt Kenyon and Nick Clarke joining the attacking fray. It was up to Club Captain Stuart Swift to put the game beyond Bournemouth with a looping effort which deceived the keeper.

Winchester took the decision to drop two divisions at the end of the 22/23 season as so many players departed, many to University. With only one promotion place available, this was a significant risk but ultimately a combination of the retention of a small number of highly skillful individuals, the improvement of former 2nd XI players who have clearly lifted their game and a group of now 15-year-old youngsters who have progressed beyond expectations has delivered a vital promotion. With a great team spirit, they can go to the 24/25 season with genuine momentum.

It looks likely that the Men's 2nd XI, who also dropped two divisions as part of the realignment, have also achieved promotion.