Round-up - Thrilling match for Bedford Hockey Club 3s decided on penalty shoot-out

Being a slip date for the East Divisions, not all Bedford Hockey Club teams were in action, and many will have been grateful not to have had to play in the atrocious weather.

Both 1st XIs were performing, with fixtures in Conference Midlands. The ladies travelled away to fourth place Beeston and, though taking some points for a 2-all draw, were disappointed not to have secured a win. Whilst, as yet, undefeated Sutton Coldfield secured another win, edging them further ahead at the top, Bedford still hold second spot, 5 points clear of St Albans, who were also held to a draw in their match.

The Men’s 1s knew they were in for a tough fixture, battling it out with Barford Tigers. Despite end-to-end action and some phenomenal saves by the Bedford keeper, Kailum Mistry, Bedford were unable to contain the Tigers, whose 6-2 victory takes them level with Harborne on points, top table.

The men head away to local rivals, St Albans, this weekend, whilst the ladies will be playing to a home crowd and looking to take points from bottom table Khalsa Leamington.

As Saturday’s weather began to deteriorate, the Ladies’ 2s took to the pitch against Basildon. The 3-0 result sees Bedford in second place on the table, just below Havering and above Letchworth, although both those teams still have a game in hand. This week, Bedford take on 4th place St Albans at Chester Road.

The Men’s 2s rearranged fixture was against Upminster and was a fast-paced match, with little between the two teams, as reflected in the 2-all stalemate. They also have a home fixture on Saturday, looking to take points from Havering.

There was no rest for the Ladies’ 3s, who were in action in their England Hockey Tier 3 Championship play-off against University of Nottingham. It was a thrilling match which could have gone to either team but Bedford’s keeper, Sophia Gallagher, successfully blocked Nottingham on numerous occasions. As the full-time whistle blew, the score-line was at 2-all, taking the match on to a penalty shoot-out. The stalemate continued after the 5 nominated players from each team had taken their shots, and so it was down to sudden death. Sadly, it was Nottingham who were to secure the win 5-4.

The Men’s 4s will have been looking for points in their game against bottom of the table Shefford & Sandy but finished 2-0 down after their local rivals fielded a strong squad. The same was the case for the Men’s 6s, taking on bottom table St Albans but ending with a 2-1 loss. The Ladies’ 7s, meanwhile, were pleased to return to winning ways with a 2-1 victory away to Harpenden.

Sunday was a chance for the Under 16 Girls to shine, even if the weather didn’t. After their Bishop’s Stortford opposition showed a dominant start, it was the Bedford team who took control of the game, ending with a fantastic 4-2 victory.