Both the Men’s and Ladies’ 1st XI’s fell to their opponents as part of another packed Bedford Hockey Club card at the weekend, with a mixed bag of results and a couple of frost-hit fixtures across the 14 adult teams.
The juniors and the veterans were also in action on Sunday to cap another full schedule at Chester Road.
Whilst it was yet another high scoring game for the Men, the match finished with a 5-3 Bedford loss against Broxbourne, although the result doesn’t impact Bedford’s third place in the Premier Division.
This coming weekend they travel away to Ipswich, who sit one place behind, but with a four point gap.
The Ladies knew they were in for a challenge, travelling away to top of the table Loughborough Students.
They could only manage a consolation goal, from the stick of Alexa Wilson, as they fell 3-1. They have a home fixture this coming Saturday when they host University of Birmingham.
The Men’s 2nd XI moved two goals closer to top of the table Luton after a phenomenal 9-0 triumph over Shefford & Sandy, with Luton only managing a 7-0 result in their fixture. Bedford and Luton are level on points, but with Luton now just 12 goals ahead on goal difference.
Bedford’s goal scorers included James Champion, Finn Lever (2), Alyn Meredith, Rob Tarrant and Rhys Badman.
The squad head away to Bishop’s Stortford this Saturday, who sit bottom of the table. Luton head to Chester Road to take on Bedford’s 3rd XI, who play in the same division as Bedford’s 2nd XI.
It was back to a more dominant performance for the Ladies’ 2nd XI, returning from Upminster with a 4-1 win under their belt. It’s a home fixture this Saturday as fourth place Bedford taking on ninth place Letchworth.
Both the club’s 3rd XIs finished their matches with 1-1 draws as the Men drew at Broxbourne and the Ladies drew against Hertford.
The Ladies’ match had remained scoreless until late into the second half, when Hertford got the opener from a penalty corner, only for play to head to the other end of the pitch and Bedford to bring the scores level with a penalty corner of their own in the 64th minute.
It was a loss for the Men’s 4th XI away to Blueharts, their opponents taking the win 4-2. Ninth place Bedford host seventh place Rickmansworth in their upcoming game.
The Ladies’ 4th XI will have to wait for a rearranged fixture after their early morning match away to Stevenage was hit by frost, while the Ladies’ 6th XI faced the same fate at Chiltern.
There were losses for both 5th XI’s.
The men were on home soil, but it was the visiting Hertford who took the 3-1 in a feisty fixture; Bedford having taken the lead in the first half, but Hertford bagging all three of their goals in the second.
Tenth place Bedford head to second place Blueharts on Saturday.
In the Ladies’ game, Broxbourne took an early lead just three minutes into the match.
Whilst Bedford dominated much of the play throughout the rest of the contest, the Broxbourne defence held firm, preventing Bedford from being able to monopolise on their goal-scoring opportunities.
It’s a local derby this weekend, when fifth place Bedford head down the road to bottom of the table Shefford & Sandy.
The Men’s 6th XI had their local derby with the Shefford & Sandy Men’s 3rd XI on Saturday, when Bedford paid them a visit.
Bedford are now top of the table after the 4-2 win and Shefford & Sandy are in third. Royston will travel to Chester Road this weekend, when Bedford will hope for further points.
The Men’s 7th XI secured a solid 5-1 win over Rickmansworth, with two goals from Luke Killen aiding the victory. They are away in Hertford this Saturday.
An evenly balanced match played out between the Ladies’ 7th XI and Luton Town’s 2nd XI as Luton opened the scoring, but Bedford pulled back level with a goal by Mariella Pompa.
Bedford trek to Potters Bar this weekend.
Juniors and Vets in action
Sunday saw fixtures at either end of the age spectrum, with the boys’ and girls’ Under 14 teams in action, and an Over 50’s Mixed friendly between Bedford and Peterborough.
The junior matches were both triangular fixtures; the girls playing Blueharts and Bishop’s Stortford, whilst the boys stepped up for games against Old Loughts and Ipswich.
The girls headed to Bishop’s Stortford for their triangular series in two forty-minute encounters, and came away with two 1-0 victories against Stortford and Blueharts.
The boys took a young squad to Essex for their fixtures, with most of the players under 13, with some under 12’s and under 11’s stepping up to a still relatively new, 11-a-side format.
The team spirit and work rate were creditable, playing their two matches back-to-back. Whilst some goals were conceded, many more were successfully defended, and Bedford scored a well-deserved goal towards the end of the second match.
The Over 50’s mixed match was a game of two halves, the first ending with Peterborough 2-0 ahead. Bedford upped their play in the second half bringing the scores level and then going on to take the 3-2 win.
Words by Jean Fitch
