After the extended Winter break, twelve of Bedford Hockey Club’s sides were scheduled to return to league action, but five games fell victim to the freezing weather.
The highlight of the weekend came in a rare Bedford vs Bedford fixture, as the Ladies 5th XI went up against their 6th XI counterparts at Chester Road.
The 5th XI are top of Division Five South West, and were favourites heading into the game but the 6th XI more than held their own before conceding two late goals to fall to a 2-0 loss.
The Ladies 4th XI were also 2-0 victors against Hertford’s 2nd XI with the side moving up to second in their division behind St Albans, with a tricky trip to Stevenage to come next week.
The Men largely struggled on a difficult week of fixtures, but the 3rd XI did manage a hard fought 4-2 victory at Stevenage and travel to bottom side St Albans next weekend.
There were convincing defeats for the rest of the Men’s division however; the 5th XI losing 5-1 to Rickmansworth while the 6th XI lost to West Herts by four goals to two.
The Men’s Veterans also faced a tough challenge against their top of the league West Herts opposition, losing 9-1 after opening the scoring.
There were positives to be taken from a thriving junior section at Bedford Hockey Club though, with the Girls Under-14’s taking victory from a spirited St Albans side.
With a lot of the games in higher divisions succumbing to the frozen weather, the club will hope that a full schedule returns next week, with a lot of sides hoping to put pressure on the top end of their respective divisions.
