Bedford Hockey Club’s Men’s 1st XI continued their winning run at the weekend with a 4-1 victory away to Letchworth.
The win, as they reach the half-way point in the season, has them stepping up to second in the East Premier Division just 3 points below top place City of Peterborough.
It’s a home fixture for the squad this coming Saturday, when they host Bishop’s Stortford, with a 2.30 push-back.
There was also an away win for the Men’s 2nd XI, taking the points with a 3-1 triumph away to Welwyn Garden City.
Like their 1st XI clubmates, the team are second in their division, three points below Luton. It’s also a home match for them this coming weekend against Broxbourne.
The Men’s 3rd XI, playing in the same division as the 2nd’s, put in a powerful performance with a 9-2 domination over St Albans 4th XI, moving Bedford up to sixth spot.
They travel away next weekend when they take on St Albans’ 3rd XI.
Most of the Men’s 4th XIs matches so far this season have been close-fought battles, but with Bedford narrowly missing out on the victories.
It was the same again this weekend in their match against Potters Bar, Bedford’s three goals falling short of matching Potters Bar’s five. It will be another tough fixture this coming weekend when they travel away to top of the table, Royston.
It’s been the same situation for the Men’s 5th XI, consistently missing out to the oppositions by a single goal. This past weekend proved likewise, Welwyn Garden City taking the win, 1-0.
The gap at the top of the league widens for the Men’s 6th XI, Bedford five points ahead of second place Shefford and Sandy.
The twelve goals scored by Bedford in their 12-0 victory over Welwyn Garden City at the weekend gives them an impressive tally of 50 goals across their nine league matches played so far.
Unfortunately, the Ladies’ 1st XI were unable to build on last week’s win, falling 2-0 away to St Albans. It’s another away fixture for them this Saturday as they head to Beeston.
The 2nd XI, meanwhile, continue their push to reach the top of the table, a 3-1 victory over Old Loughtonians keeping the dream alive, although an unbeaten St Albans currently hold that pole position, ahead of Bedford by three points.
Bedford travel away to Blueharts this Saturday.
The Ladies’ 3rd XI are having a steady run in their division, currently sitting in fifth, their 1-1 draw with Berkhamsted & Hemel adding a few more points to their tally at the weekend.
They host sixth place, Blueharts, at Bedford’s Chester Road ground this Saturday.
There’s no stopping the 4th XI whose 4-1 victory last Saturday, against Bishop’s Stortford, takes them four points ahead of second place Luton Town in their league.
The success continues for the Ladies’ 5th XI, a 5-0 winning scoreline at the weekend over Berkhamsted & Hemel see them sitting above St Albans at the top of the table on goal difference, with just seven goals dividing the two teams.
The Ladies’ 6th XI had to settle for a 2-2 draw in their fixture with Bishop’s Stortford, Bedford having taken the lead in the first half, only for Stortford to equalise early on in the second.
Stortford then took the lead on the 45th minute, with Bedford forcing the draw after finding the back of the net three minutes later. Bedford will need to put in their best performance on Saturday when they head to top of the table St Albans.
The 7th XI were left heartbroken, after taking an early lead in their match, quickly following up with a second goal, only for their Welwyn Garden City opponents to level the scores.
Just as the match looked like it would end in a draw, a strike on goal by Welwyn in the final seconds of the match was cleared from the goalmouth by the Bedford defence, only to be deemed to have crossed the line, giving Welwyn the victory.
Masters in action
In the England Hockey Masters’ Championships, it was the turn of Bedford’s Women’s Over 55’s to begin their championship run and, thanks to Storm Bert, the squad made a blustery trek to Harleston Magpies on Sunday.
Bedford were determined to defeat Harleston, the two teams having faced each other in last year’s championship Tier 2 finals, a 1-0 loss for Bedford meaning they had to settle for being National Tier 2 silver medallists.
After a first half dominated by Bedford, the team headed into the second half with a 2-0 advantage.
Changes by Harleston to their match format in the second half managed to break down the Bedford defence on a number of occasions, before they finally bagged a goal of their own.
Undeterred, Bedford regrouped and once more dominated; a further goal giving them the 3-1 victory.
The result sends Harleston down to Tier 2 and leaves Bedford to continue with their run in Tier 1, with their next fixture yet to be announced, taking place on the 15th of December.
This coming Sunday (1 December) has the Men’s and Women’s Over 45’s both step out on pitch for the first-round matches of their championships. The women have a home draw, when they face up to Blueharts, whilst the men head away to Leighton Buzzard.
Words by Jean Fitch
