Ups and downs weekend for Bedford hockey

It was another weekend of mixed results for Bedford’s 14 adult squads.

The Men’s First XI came up against a forceful Harleston squad, the considerable tally of yellow and green cards, shown to the opposition, a reflection of their style of play.

Bedford held their own for much of the fast-paced game, demonstrating their own strength in both defence and attack, but it was Harleston who, finally, opened the scoring in the third quarter.

With the seconds ticking down, Bedford continued to make presses, until an overly forceful tackle in the D saw Bedford’s Dave Appleton felled, and a penalty stroke awarded just as the final whistle blew. Up stepped captain, Ollie Jackson, and Harleston could only watch as, what would have been their win, turned to a 1-1 draw.

The Ladies’ First XI travelled away to top of the table Cambridge University. Despite Bedford’s best effort, Cambridge were 3-0 up by the third quarter, before Aine Gransden grabbed a consolation goal.

The Men’s and Ladies’ 1s are both in action at Chester Road this coming weekend. The women will hope a home advantage will assist a win over St Albans, at 1pm. The men follow on at 3.15, when they host Dereham.

The Men’s Second XI suffered a 6-2 loss away to Hertford, Bedford’s brace coming from Rhys Badman. They face another tough fixture next weekend, away to Havering.

It was Havering that the Ladies’ Second XI took on this weekend, and it was a triumphant journey home, after a 3-2 win. 2 goals from Tilly Sheldon took Bedford into the lead, before Havering found two late equalisers, only for Sarah Mobbs to secure the Bedford win from a Penalty Corner, with just 3 minutes to play.

A 5-0 victory for the Men’s Third XI, over Broxbourne’s Third XI, with goals from Lee Hoggett (2), Josh Dixon (2) and Jim Neale, has them take top spot in the table. An exciting match is guaranteed next weekend, when they travel away to Broxbourne’s Second XI, who sit in second place, the two teams being on the same points, but Bedford ahead by 6 goals, on Goal Difference.

Despite a rare loss for the Ladies’ Third XI, going 3-2 down against Harpenden, the team still hold their third place in the table. Bedford’s two goal scorers were Emma Burak and Harri Kinnear.

There was a 2-0 away win for the Men’s Fourth XI, over Southgate Adelaide, with goals by Matt Ricketts and James Pagliaro. The squad, playing in the same division as the Third Team, are sitting in an incredible third place.

The Ladies’ Fourth XI had a long trek for a late, 5.30, fixture, away to Broxbourne. The two goals, from Cheryl Harding and Ella Litchfield, weren’t sufficient to match the four by Broxbourne, who are, currently, sitting at the top of the table.

It was a narrow 3-2 loss for the Men’s Fifth XI against second in the table, Hertford. Both Bedford’s goals came from the stick of Tony Sawyer. The scores had stood at 2-2, heading into the second half, a scoreline that held until the 52nd minute, when Hertford snatched the winning goal.

Having started the season strongly, with four wins under their belt, the Ladies’ Fifth XI suffered their second loss in a row at the weekend, going 6-1 down to Harpenden. Amelia Kite was Bedford’s sole goal scorer.

The Ladies’ Sixth XI took the points from their match and, whilst it holds them in top spot, it was not in the way they would have wished, their Harpenden opposition giving them a walkover, being unable to field a team.

The Men’s Seventh XI were, also given a walkover, by their Royston opponents, so, as both they and the Ladies’ Sixes were keen to play some hockey, an impromptu mixed match, with players from both squads, was organised -  hockey being the winner.

The Ladies’ Seventh XI, meanwhile, a designated Development squad, did extremely well to hold Berkhamsted & Hemel, a non-development team, to 2-0.