Action across all Bedford Hockey Club’s 14 senior squads resumed on Saturday (17 January), after disruption from frozen pitches had delayed the restart of league play following the Christmas break.
The only team whose scheduled match had been playable the week previously had been the Ladies 1st XI, who had suffered an uncharacteristic 2-1 loss away to Chelmsford.
They were relieved to return to winning ways at the weekend on home turf, when they hosted Cambridge City.
It was Ellie Scott who opened the scoring for Bedford just seven minutes in, her diving touch on the ball slipping it past the keeper.
Further goals came late in the second quarter. The first, a penalty corner conversion from Kate Costin, was followed a minute later by a goal from open play by Aine Gransden.
Cambridge pulled a goal back 30 minutes into the game, but Bedford responded immediately as Ellie Scott found the back of the net for her second, securing a 4-1 victory and keeping Bedford at the top of the table.
The Men’s 1st XI went a goal down early in their match after travelling away to Harleston Magpies.
Bedford’s fight to pull the game back made for a feisty introduction to Premier Division play for debutant, Alex Sawyer, who gained his selection in his 13th season for Bedford, having played in his first junior tournament for the club aged just three.
The team’s battling spirit paid dividends when, in the 48th minute, Richard Evans pulled the scores level from a perfectly placed penalty corner drag flick with the score remaining 1-1 at the close.
There were wins for both the Ladies’ and the Men’s 2nd XI’s, the Ladies’ 5th XI, and the Men’s 4th, 5th and 6th XIs, but the rest of the Club’s teams fell foul in losses.
Words by Jean Fitch
