It was a winning weekend for Bedford Hockey Club’s two Premier League teams.
The Ladies’ 1st XI moved to the top of the table at the weekend, in their quest to return to National League, after an impressive team performance in front of the home crowd against Bury St Edmunds.
The 5-0 victory was aided by two goals apiece from Kate Costin and Alice Challacombe, with the fifth from the stick of Alex Day.
Kate’s goals stretch her lead still further as the top goalscorer in the East Women’s Premier League this season.
A trip away to Old Loughtonians saw the Men return victorious; goals from Richard Evans, Finn Lever and first team debutant, Ollie Jackson, giving them the 3-0 win.
They will have the home advantage next weekend when Pelicans come to Chester Road for a 1.15pm push back.
The Ladies’ 2nd XI were on a rest week but the Men were in action, suffering an unfortunate loss in the closing seconds of their match against St Albans.
Iwan Doherty opened the scoring for Bedford only for St Albans to equalise and then take the lead. Bedford equalised again, with a goal from Arran De Sousa-Butterworth in the 62nd minute, but St Albans snatched the win from a penalty corner as the final whistle blew.
There was a guaranteed win or draw for Bedford, with the Ladies’ 3rd and 4th teams placed in the same league division, stepping out on pitch to battle it out with each other.
The 3rd XI didn’t waste time showing their dominance; Emma Burak opening the scoring with just a minute on the clock, following up with a second before the close of the first half.
Into the second half, Natalia Norford Reynolds took the score to 3-0, before Toni Wakeham-Moon bagged the 4th XI a consolation goal.
The Men’s 3rd XI, travelling away to Royston, took an early lead with a goal from Dan Mason, but were unable to sustain their advantage into the second half of the match when Royston bagged two goals in quick succession to seize the win.
It was a 2-1 win for the Men’s 4th XI against Southgate Adelaide; Steve Evans opening the scoring on the 17-minute mark, with Bedford’s second coming just four minutes later.
The Men’s 5th and 6th XI’s find themselves in the same position as the Ladies’ 3rd’s and 4th’s, being placed in the same division. There was little that the 6th XI could do against the force of the 5th XI, who currently sit second in the league.
Words by Jean Fitch
