Cheered on by a large home crowd, including many former club players and local dignitaries on President’s Day at Bedford Hockey Club, the Men’s 1st XI put on an electrifying display at the weekend, with a squad that included six youth players.
They shared ten goals with Cambridge City, storming to a 7-3 victory.
Whilst it was Cambridge City who opened the scoring, from an early penalty corner, Bedford then took control; Fraser Retford pulling the home team level just two minutes later.
Man of the match, Ollie Jackson, swiftly followed up with two goals, one from open play plus a penalty stroke, seeing Bedford 3-1 up at the close of the first quarter.
Retford began the second quarter by bagging another goal, whilst Jack Bellamy gave the home team a 4-1 lead in the final seconds of the quarter.
The goals continued to flow in the third quarter, with Alex Sawyer netting his first for the team since his debut performance just a few weeks ago, before Cambridge grabbed two back of their own.
It was Bedford who had the final say, their seventh goal coming in the 62nd minute off the stick of Freddie Bowis.
Goalkeeper, Will Jackson also put in a fantastic performance.
The 7-3 win sees Bedford sitting comfortably mid table, as they head to their final match of the season this coming weekend, away to bottom of the table, Bishop’s Stortford.
Men’s 5th XI win promotion
The Men’s 2nd XI knew they were in for a tough match away to second place Upminster, but will put the 5-0 loss behind them and look to finish their league run on a high when they host Havering this weekend.
Bedford’s 3rd XI will be heartened by their 6-0 win over Broxbourne, as this coming weekend sees a critical match against Potters Bar, although they need to rely on Royston losing at bottom side, St Albans for them to avoid relegation.
The goalscorers in the Broxbourne match were Sam Ross, Thomas Kelk, Daniel Smith, Simba Chigwada and a brace for Lee Hoggett.
The Men’s 4th XI had a bye at the weekend, but will be back playing this Saturday (21 March) in their final game against Blueharts.
The Men’s 5th XI, with a game still in hand, were named league champions and gained promotion after their 3-0 victory over Stevenage at the weekend, with goals from Martin McLeod, James Logan and Tony Hammon.
The Men’s 6th XI won 1-0, while it’s likely promotion for the Men’s 7th XI, after they beat Stevenage to a 2-1 win at the weekend, thanks to goals from Keith Waterhouse and Matt Riley.
If second place Bedford win their match next week, third place Letchworth, who still have two games in hand, would need to win both their remaining games, and score more than 20 goals to overtake Bedford on goal difference.
League champions, the Ladies’ 1st XI may have taken their foot of the pedal, heading away to 11th in the table, Dereham, although Alex Day and Alice Challacombe both scored late field goals to save their blushes and clinch the 4-3 win.
The squad will be celebrating their title win this coming Saturday (21 March) after their home match at Chester Road, hoping to finish on a high with one final victory, taking on St Albans. Push back is 2pm, and spectators are very welcome.
There was a loss for the Ladies’ 2nd XI; Bedford’s Zara Fletcher gaining the consolation goal in their 3-1 defeat against top of the table Braintree. A fifth place finish looks likely for the Bedford squad.
It was a 2-1 win for the Ladies’ 3rd XI, away to Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead, with goals from Vicki Sadler and Tilly Sheldon. They will hope to hold their current fourth place with their final fixture on home turf against Saffron Walden.
The Ladies’ 4th XI will be glad to see the season’s end, and to head down a division for next season, after a 3-0 loss against Harpenden, while there was a pleasing 1-0 win away to Shefford and Sandy for the Ladies’ 5th XI.
There was a brilliant 5-0 victory for the Ladies’ 6th XI over Stevenage, with a hat-trick for Manpriya Sira, and further goals from Mia Riley and Nicola Reddy.
The Ladies’ 7th Development squad will be back in action this weekend after a week off.
Meanwhile, Bedford Hockey Club’s Under 14 boys delivered an outstanding performance at the East Plate & Vase Finals Day, writes Sandeep Sira.
The competition was held at Saffron Walden Hockey Club on Sunday, and Bedford emerged as overall winners after a superb run of results.
The team won all three of their matches, securing 4–1 and 3–0 victories, before clinching the title with a hard-fought 2–1 win in the final.
Their skill, teamwork and determination were on full display throughout the day, capping off a fantastic achievement for the club’s junior section.
Words by Jean Fitch
