Bedford Hockey Club teams pick up points against University of Birmingham

There were points for both of Bedford Hockey Club’s first team squads, each taking on the University of Birmingham. The Ladies’ 3-0 victory moves them to within 6 points of top of the table Sutton Coldfield, who were held to a draw by Loughborough Students. Bedford will hope to take further points this weekend, away to Broxbourne.

The men, meanwhile, after end-to-end action and tit-for-tat goals looked as though they were heading for a loss as the final whistle approached, only to snatch a 4-all draw against Birmingham through a converted Penalty Corner in the closing seconds of the match. They take on Loughborough next weekend at Bedford’s Chester Road ground.

A 1-0 win over Blueharts keeps the Ladies’ 2s third in their division, though the men, who would have hoped to take a win against bottom table Shefford & Sandy, failed to perform on the day and ended 3-1 down. They will hope to pick their game up this weekend when they host Chelmsford.

Both the Club’s third XIs were on top form, the men taking St Albans 3-1, and the ladies 7-0 dominance over Letchworth on Saturday and 3-1 win on Sunday, over Berkhamsted & Hemel, sees them take second spot in the table, just three points behind top table Stevenage, but with a game in hand.

The Ladies’ 4s are still clinging on to second place in their division, though have been struggling over the past few weeks, and fell 1-0 down to Royston. They will need to up their game if they are to gain a win over top of the table St Albans this weekend. It was a good result for the men, meanwhile, their 3-2 win over Southgate holding them in third spot, with the hope for further points against Blueharts on Saturday.

The Ladies’ 5s ascendancy continues, and promotion is surely guaranteed, after their 11-0 hammering of Rickmansworth, taking the season’s goal tally to 75, with only 8 against. The 6s, however, playing in the same division, fell 5-1 down to a strong St Albans team and face another tough fixture at the weekend against Letchworth. The Men’s 6s nearly let their lead slip against their St Albans opposition, but just managed to hold on to secure a 5-4 win.

After several difficult weeks, the Men’s Vets are returning to form and their 3-1 win over MBDA will have them hopeful of repeating their performance against Bishops Stortford at the weekend.

It was once again a weekend of success for the Club’s Masters teams, with the Ladies’ Over 35s heading to the semi-finals of England Hockey’s Tier 1 Championship. Their game against Harleston Magpies ended 2-all and so went to a nail-biting penalty shootout, with Bedford securing their semi-final place after keeper Kez Surman made 2 fantastic saves.

A place in the finals is the reward for the Ladies’ Over 55s, after a run-away 8-0 victory over Chichester. The finals are set to take place in Nottingham on the 30th April when Bedford will take on Ben Rhydding.