Bedford Hockey Club's weekend roundup

It was another week of mixed results for the Bedford Hockey Club senior squads.

The Men’s First XI knew they were in for a challenging match, heading away to top of the table, Ipswich.

Despite the 6-1 loss, Bedford are still in a creditable fourth place in the table. Their single goal came from Alex Sawyer, who is proving to be a prolific goalscorer for the team, since his first team debut.

Richard Evans added to his season’s goal tally, bagging a brace, with a third from Matt Chitty, in the Men’s Second XI’s 3-2 win over Letchworth.

Mark Ramage and Steven Adams gave the Men’s Third XI a 2-2 draw against Hertford, whilst the Fourth XI, in the same division, secured a 3-1 win over Stevenage. Match winning goals coming from Josh Lincoln, Richard Fromow and Seb Ullah.

Both are sitting in healthy spots in the table, the 3s, currently second, and the 4s, in fourth.

There were losses, unfortunately, for the remaining three Men’s teams.

Despite a hattrick from James Logan, the Fifth XI went 5-3 down against Letchworth.

It was a 5-3 loss, too, for the Sixth XI, their first loss of the season. They won’t be too disappointed, however, as their opponents, Old Haberdashers First Team, have held the top spot from the start of the season, in the 5 matches up to this point, only conceding 1 goal and scoring 32.

Despite the loss, Bedford remain second, with the bonus that their goals, from Jeremy Woodrow (2) and Gary Hickman, take their goals for the season to 21.

The Sevens started strongly in their match against Shefford & Sandy, doing several pressing attacks, finally opening the scoring 15 minutes into play, with a goal from Zameer Safdar. As the half-time whistle approached, Shefford & Sandy drew level, and it was they who then dominated the second half of the match, ending 3-1 over Bedford.

The Ladies’ First XI had been hopeful of taking points over Olton & West Warwickshire, and it was Bedford who came closest to scoring on several occasions throughout the match.

Even when the opposition were two players down for a period, both having received yellow cards, Bedford were unable to capitalise, however.

The single goal of the match fell to Olton, coming in the 49th minute, from a converted Penalty Corner.

It was a much-needed win for the Second XI, a goal by Rebecca Sadler, ten minutes into their match against Hertford’s First Team, opened the scoring, which was followed up, just a minute later, by one from Andrea Mason. Bedford’s third came as the minutes counted down to the first half whistle, when Tilly Sheldon scored from open play.

The second half of the match played out with no addition to the scoreline, until Hertford pulled a goal back with 5 minutes left to play, only for Andrea Mason to stretch Bedford’s lead again, converting a Penalty Corner, to bring her second and Bedford a 4-1 victory, on the final whistle.

The Third XI continued their winning run with a 2-1 victory over Letchworth, both goals coming from Molly Hawkins, Bedford sitting third in the table.

A 2-2 draw with Hertford, for the Fourth XI, leaves Bedford sitting second and Hertford third in the table. Bedford’s opening scorer, Sue Glover, is currently listed as one of the top goal scorers in the East Area League, with 10 goals to her name. The second goal came from Annabel Sadler.

It was Bedford who opened the scoring in the Sixth XI match against Hertford, the goal being scored from a Penalty Corner, by Charlotte Goodson. Hertford levelled the scores just 3 minutes later, with the rest of the match then remaining goalless, until Hertford grabbed the win, 2-1, in the 59th minute.

It was a fantastic 7-1 victory for the Sixth XI, away to Hertford. Goals were shared between Tara Appleton, Leah Foley, Joy Leeson, Bethan Harrison (hattrick) and Abi Holt. The goal tally ensured Bedford remained top of the table, over 2nd place Blueharts who, themselves, won their match at the weekend, 7-0. Bedford presently sit 3 goals ahead on goal difference.

The Ladies’ 7’s Development squad took points from a walkover, after Chiltern were unable to field a full team. All available players, from both clubs, did get to play, however, as Bedford loaned players to Chiltern to play a friendly match.

The Girl's U18 squad were, also, in action at the weekend, beating Letchworth 6-1 in their East Hockey Competition on Sunday. Bedford’s goals came from Tilly Sheldon (hattrick), Ella Roberts and Alex Day.

There is a break from league play, for all teams, this coming weekend, the date being set aside as a slip-date.