Bedford stay bottom of hockey league after double-header misery

On the Saturday, Bedford went down 5-2 to second-placed Cambridge City and, 24 hours later, they were beaten again, losing 4-2 to Chichester, who are third in the table.

They actually opened the scoring against Cambridge, but it wasn’t long before their opponents were in command, surging into a 5-1 advantage before Bedford bagged a late consolation goal.

The defeats were Bedford’s ninth and tenth of the season and means they have won only two of their 14 league fixtures.

The men’s second team also took on high-riding opposition in the shape of Wapping 3, who top the First Division of the East Region Hockey League. Despite a plucky performance, they fell to a 1-0 loss.

The men’s fourth team were involved in a thrilling six-goal draw against Bishop’s Stortford 2 in Division Four South-West of the East Region League.

After going 1-0 down, they hit back to lead at 2-1 and then after falling behind again at 3-2, Bedford’s late pressure was rewarded with an equaliser.

Bedford women’s first team dropped from second place to third in the Conference East table of the Investec Women’s Hockey League after a 3-2 defeat at the hands of fellow high-fliers Barnes. They now trail leaders Wimbledon by nine points.

However, there was a superb win for the ladies’ third team, who upset leaders Hertford with a 1-0 away win in Division Three South nof the East Region League. The fourth team were also victorious, winning a feisty match against Stevenage 2-1.

On Sunday, the Bedford club hosted the quarter-finals of England Hockey’s Men’s Over-60s Masters Championships. Several Bedford players were in the combined Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire side that lost 8-7 in a nailbiting penalty shootout against Old Silhillians after a 3-3 draw in normal time.

This weekend is President’s Day at the club.