Last night, the Hawks were pleased to confirm our award winners for the 2019/20 season, with all bar one award going to products of our own youth system. The winners were announced on a Zoom call with the Whitehawk FC committee, members and players and the winners are –

Goal of the Season – Connor Tighe vs Haywards Heath Town – 26th August 2019

Fans Player of the Season – Lucas Rodrigues

Young Player of the Season – Luke Emberson

Players Player of the Season – Lucas Rodrigues

Managers Player of the Season – Luke Emberson

After naming ex-Hawks U18 player Emberson as his Player of the Season, Hawks Manager Jude Macdonald said “Luke is a player that we have all watched with admiration this season for his consistency and tireless performances, whether they are in midfield or at full back. There are genuinely maybe one or two games where you could suggest that Embers has had a poor performance and that says everything about how he has developed and worked on his game. He always puts the team first, which is anything you could want as a manager. He deserves great credit for his performances and his development.”

Hawks Chairman Andy Schofield added “Luke is Mr Dependable. He has played in three different positions this season: both full back berths as well as midfield, never letting us down. He has really come into his own this year and his dedicated performances have been hugely appreciated by the fans and everyone at the club.  Travelling down from University each week can’t be easy but Luke has never used that as an excuse to let his standards slip. He is deceptively quick and always plays for the team. Playing further forward in our last game before lockdown, Luke even scored his annual goal per season, when Lucas Rodrigues gave him a tap in.”

On seeing Lucas named Players Player of the Season, Macdonald said “To be chosen as player of the year by your teammates is one of the best compliments you can get and to say Lucas deserves this award is an understatement. He became a talisman for us this season and somebody that the players and us as management staff relied upon. He has worked really hard on his own game and his physical development, which has helped take him to the next level. A fantastic season and a deserved winner.”

Chairman Andy added “It’s incredible that at 22 years of age Lucas is our longest serving player, making his debut in 2016 after coming through our youth team. Lucas was definitely our most threatening player in the season just gone. He brings a bit of Brazilian magic, with 13 goals and 14 assists, despite the season being cut short. Memories for me this include a great solo goal against Saltdean in the FA Cup and an even better one for the winner at home to Whyteleafe, after nutmegging two defenders on the way to goal. His second half hat-trick in just over 20 minutes after coming on as sub at Three Bridges in November was also incredible and gave everyone associated with the club a big boost, as we were 3-1 down a the time. You always know when the Hawks fans have taken one of our players to their heart when they get their own song dedicated to them, so it’s fortunate that Lucas’ surname rhymes with Bognor Regis.”

Lucas was also named Fans Player of the Year with Hawks fan and committee member Simon Stevens saying “Lucas has been immense this season and to be honest he has been over the past 3 seasons. To watch him grow as a player, we as fans are in awe of his passion for the game, the club and also his unlimited skills. He plays with the passion we all love to see and he’s also a great lad with the right attitude. He’s one of our own! A winner in every sense of the word.”

Award winners for our U18 side were also announced, with the Managers Player of the Year Award going to Henry Blackmore and the Players Player of the Year going to Ollie Munt.