Stevenage Hockey Club

M1 took part in the prestigious East Region indoor tournament this weekend. Top sides from over The East were too strong for them, and over the four games they conceded 38 goals and scored 3 through Gary Brown (2) and Ryall Swartz but found the demanding task very rewarding in terms of experience gained.

M2 beat Broxbourne 3s  3 - 0: in extremely hard fought first half the visitors just nudged ahead thanks to a Danny Blackburn goal, and extended their lead in a tough second half through Dan Farnan and a second for Blackburn.

M3 won 4 - 1 at Shefford & Sandy 2s after racing to an early 2-0 lead thanks to two Tufty Barlow rockets, but the home side broke to pull a goal back against the run of play. Khaled Mehmood increased the lead to 3-1 at the break. The visitors controlled second half and wrapped up an impressive display with a beautifully flicked goal from Nick Crocker to go two points clear at the top of their division.

M4 beat Royston 4s 4 - 3 in end to end match that was finally settled by a Tariq Mahmood penalty flick with 3 minutes to go. Three times the home side went ahead, through Ian Brown (2) and Bailey Dingley, only for Royston to come back, before a goal bound shot from Adam Presland, who with Chris Hall was impressive in midfield, was stopped on the line by a defender's foot and the penalty awarded.

M5 lost 1 - 3 at Potters Bar 3s: the visitors found themselves a goal down at half-time but game back well to dominate the second half, Kevin Wharton scoring after good work from skipper Martin Elliott. The equaliser would not come however and the home team broke to score with the last hit of the game somewhat distorting a true reflection of the match.

M6 lost 4 - 6 to Royston 5s, their old rivals at the foot of Division SW9 in a good game that could have gone either way. Goal scorers for the home side were Harry Wheeler (2), Shane Palmar and Graham Nichols

L1 drew 1 - 1 at Havering 1s.After a good first half it was left to oustanding player on the day Holly Mould to keep the score at 0 - 1 in the second. But Stevenage then took the game to the home side and with just 4 minutes to go lost Tennille Steiner to a horrible injury. Her replacement Daisy Mould grabbed the equaliser.

L2 had a convincing 5 - 2 home win over Cheshunt 1s

L3 were hammered 0 - 11 at Broxbourne on horrible day for them with one-way traffic from a strong Broxbourne side. Incredibly keeper Nat Leach made some fine saves but her defence were unable to get the ball away from the danger area for long.

L4 beat West Herts 2 - 1 away

L5 started their mid-term break early and had no game

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Holly Mould, great display in defence for L1

M1 lost 4 - 5 to Bedford 3s after failing to get 11 fit adults on the pitch. A Gary Brown hat-trick and a goal for Danny Blackburn the only consolations for the home side whose league season has gone downhill so quickly

M2 lost 0 - 11 at Potters Bar 1s but felt themselves unfortunate to be behind at halftime (when the score was 0 - 3) and then failed to turn up at all in the second half when the Bar scored some super goals.

M3 beat Blueharts 4s 8 - 2 and storm to the top of their division on goal difference. In a tight first half the visitors went ahead through Khaled Mehmood only for the opposition to draw level. Dan Hanslow restored the lead after some excellent teamwork with Zeddy Wilcock. A much improved second half display saw a further 6 goals coming from Paul Rose (2), Harp Mann (2), Nick Crocker and Zeddy.

M4 lost 1 - 2 to league leaders Cheshunt 2s despite a super performance from 13 year old team debutant Stevie Hamid. Ian Brown scored an early goal but the visitors equalised then took the lead through a deflected shot before half-time.

M5 beat West Herts 6s 5 - 3 thanks to goals from Kevin Wharton (2), the impressive Chris Hall, Stuart Jones and Skipper Martin Elliott. The home side were 2 - 1 up at half-time but went behind soon after only to finish strongly.

M6 lost 0 - 1 at Potters Bar 3s after holding out until the last 4 minutes against a strong side. Playing on the break the visitors had by far the better clear cut chances thanks to the pace of Harry Wheeler but lacked the striking power to convert.

L1 beat WGC 1s 1 - 0 thanks to a goal from Holly Mould, the visitors still not playing to their full potential but nevertheless deserving their victory.

L2 drew 2 - 2 with St Neots 2s. An early home goal was equalised by Alfie Gunther but the visitors went behind before half-time only for Debbi Church to grab a point with a second half penalty flick.

L3 lost 0 - 1 to WGC 3s and with key players missing through injury and illness the team struggled to hold it’s own against the bottom of the league visitors. Holly O'Connor, who with her twin Becky was celebrating her 16th Birthday, had the best of the chances that went their way. The defence worked hard to keep the score down, especially Gill Hamid, Claudia Strickland and keeper Nat Leach.

L4 lost 1 - 4 to Shefford & Sandy 4s with Maggie O'Connor scoring the consolation goal for the disappointed visitors.

L5 picked up full points in the most unsatisfactory way as a result of Broxbourne 6s not being able to field a side.

 PLAYER OF THE WEEK Kevin Wharton, 2 crucial goals for M5