High-flying Dereham 1st smashed Spalding 1st 7-0 in East Men’s Hockey League Premier B Division on Saturday as an impressive first half counted for little.
On a fast and greasy surface that suited Spalding’s intricate style of play, the visitors quickly settled into the game against a Dereham side unbeaten in their previous three games.
Despite forcing a number of short corner opportunities they failed to find the net – and went in 1-0 down at the break as the hosts converted a corner of their own.
However, after the break absent minded defending, lethargic pressing and poor tackling contributed to Spalding’s downfall as they shipped six more goals without reply.
Spalding can take satisfaction from their first half efforts but discovered that switching off in Premier B can be costly ahead of Saturday’s Glen Park showdown with league leaders East London (12.30pm).
Meanwhile, Long Sutton 1st picked up an impressive 2-1 victory over high-flying Cambridge Nomads 1st in Division 2N.
In what was a fantastic performance from the entire team, the goals came from Josh Baker and man-of-the-match Tom Baguley – with the latter netting a very rare goal.
Down in Division 4NW, leaders Spalding 3rd were held to a 1-1 draw at Cambridge Nomads 2nd.
The hosts went 1-0 ahead just before the break, but grabbed a dramatic leveller with five seconds left to play when Ben Scholes made no mistake from a short corner.
Second-placed Long Sutton 2nd were also held to a 1-1 draw at Cambridge South to remain level on points with the table-toppers.
Luke Proctor got the goal to keep Sutton bang in the race for the title.
Three points back in third are Spalding 2nd, who last 3-2 at home against City of Peterborough 6th.
Glenn Perkins fired the opener for Spalding, but they were pegged back to 1-1 by half-time. City turned the game on its head after the break and raced into a 3-1 lead, rendering Pete Wright’s late goal as scant consolation.
Meanwhile, Spalding 4th were handed a hefty 7-1 home drubbing by runaway leaders Louth 1st in Division 5NW.
Also beaten by a team from Louth were Spalding 5th in Division 6NW (N). They suffered a 2-1 reverse at Louth 2nd despite a promising performance that saw Ollie Smith’s strike earn them a 1-1 scoreline at half-time.
Spalding dominated much of the second half, but second-placed Louth pinched a winner to take the points.
In the same division, Long Sutton 3rd were seen off 3-0 by visitors Leadenham 3rd.
- Spalding Poachers 1st were handed a 6-0 home derby drubbing by Pelicans 1st in Division 2NW of the East Women’s Hockey League on Saturday.
A rash tackle within the first two minutes allowed Pelicans to go ahead, before they doubled their lead ahead of the half-time whistle.
The quality of the away team’s finishing shone through in the second period as they added four more goals without reply, which proved to be the difference on the day.
Staying in Division 2NW, Long Sutton ladies’ 1st went down 3-2 at Cambridge Nomads 1st. Player-of-the-match Gemma Parr and Amber Jones netted for Sutton in the defeat.
In Division 3NW, Spalding Poachers 2nd battled out 0-0 at basement side Haverhill.
Meg Moore impressed with a stellar showing, but they couldn’t break the deadlock.
Down in Division 4NW, Long Sutton 2nd romped to a 12-0 win over over Woodhall Spa 1st thanks to goals from Ali Monaghan (3), Rhian Goodge (2), Hannah Baker (2), Lisa Baker (2), Georgina Synnott (2) and Claire Collingwood-Smith.
Spalding Poachers 3rd beat Leadenham 1st 2-0 with Ali Willson and Charlotte Morris netting.
