It was another successful week across Bedford Hockey Club’s adult squads, with ten wins, one draw and just three losses.
In the men’s section, the first team gained further points, adding to last week’s victory by beating Dereham 4-1, including two goals from open play by Simba Chigwada, moving them up to third place in the table.
They head away this weekend to Upminster.
Across the rest of the men’s teams, the Men’s 2nds had a 2-0 win away to Bishop’s Stortford 2nd’s as goals from Jack Bellamy and Adam Priston see the Bedford team top the table.
The Men’s 3rd XI bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to Bedford’s 2nd XI with a 7-1 triumph over Bishops Stortford 3rds.
The fourth team was the only men’s teams to suffer a loss, their opposition putting up a feisty battle which saw Cheshunt receive two yellow and two green cards in their endeavour to take the 2-1 victory.
It was wins for both the Fives and Sixes, the Men’s 5th’s beating Letchworth 2-1, and the 6th’s enjoying a 4-2 away victory over Blueharts, which has the 6th’s sitting in first spot.
Lastly, a goal by Luke Killen four minutes into the Men’s 7th’s match, and solid defending for the remainder of the game, secured them a 1-1 draw with Blueharts.
For the Ladies, it was wins for all except the 1st team and the 7th’s, the 1st’s going 4-2 down away to Cannock and the 7th’s, after taking an early lead, finishing 3-2 down to Berkhamsted and Hemel.
The 1st’s will be hoping for home advantage, and good support from the crowd this coming Saturday, when they host Oxford Hawks, with a 1.30 push-back at the Chester Road ground.
The Ladies’ 2nd XI squad finally returned to the dominant form they demonstrated last season when they came close to promotion.
In an away fixture at Colchester, the Bedford team netted 5 goals, to take the victory 5-1. They, like their first team clubmates, will enjoy a home game on Saturday when they are visited by Old Southendian 1sts.
There were dominant scorelines too, for the Ladies’ 3rd and 4th teams, the 3rds beating St Albans 4-0 and the, so far undefeated 4th XI, taking Letchworth by three goals to nil to maintain their top of the table position.
Also undefeated this season, the fifth team got another win under their belt with a 2-1 victory over Berkhamsted and Hemel, Bedford matching points with Broxbourne at the top of the division.
There was yet another season’s goal for Charlotte Goodson, in the Ladies’ 6th’s match away at Rickmansworth.
The 1-0 victory takes the Bedford team’s goal tally in the past three matches to eight, and has Charlotte looking to try and bag herself the top goalscorers award by the close of the season.
Bedford vs Bedford in junior final
It was a busy weekend for the club’s juniors too, with a tournament away in Leighton Buzzard, Bedford taking four Under-12, and three Under-10 teams, with Luton, Olney and Shefford & Sandy also being represented.
The junior tournaments, whilst competitive, are as much about providing a chance for everyone to get to play hockey and have fun.
That said, it was two Bedford Under-12s who topped their groups, each getting to face strong teams from Olney in the semi-finals and, having both won those matches, it came down to a Bedford vs Bedford final.
The final was tight but action packed with both teams attacking and creating opportunities, but both defences and their keepers remained stubborn, refusing to succumb to the attacks.
The game ended up going to shuffles, at the request of the juniors.
The Under 10s also played fabulously in a round-robin format, avoiding an emphasis on winners and medals, though it must be said, the three Bedford teams performed brilliantly.
Both age-groups represented the club superbly, and hockey was the winner, along with the bright future of the club.
The club’s youth players also saw action, the Boys Under-16s travelling to Blueharts for their fixture. Despite a strong line-up, it wasn’t to be Bedford’s day, Blueharts taking the game 6-0.
The Boys and the Girls Under-14s stepped up to play what, for some, was their first ever experience of playing 11-a-side hockey, and on a full-size pitch.
The boys played at Bedford’s Chester Road ground, Leighton Buzzard being the visiting opposition.
It was a tough and exhausting introduction to the mainstream format, but Bedford fought hard and were unlucky to end 2-1 down.
The girls travelled to Cambridge and, after a fantastic game, seeing the girls improve with each quarter of the match, great teamwork and a fighting spirit closed the match in a 1-1 draw.
Words by Jean Fitch
