Newbury and Thatcham's women's first team lose but there are wins for ladies fourth team and men's masters
Newbury and Thatcham Hockey Club’s women’s first team’s woes continued at the weekend with a 2-1 defeat at home to Phoenix Reading, their fifth loss in the last six games.
Hannah Jones’ sixth goal of the season proved ultimately in vain for the ladies, who are without a win since January 14 and are third bottom in the South Central Women’s Division One North table, having played a game more than second bottom Wallingford.
The ladies travel to Buckinghamshire on Saturday to take on Amersham and Chalfont, who are two places and one point above them in the league.
Meanwhile, the women’s fourth team beat Harlow High Wycombe 3-1 to make it 10 wins in their last 11.
Katharine Cain bagged a brace and Beverley Williams scored her second goal in three games for the ladies, who are second in the South Central Women’s Division Three Thames table but have a game in hand on league leaders Windsor.
Fifth placed Scarlet Runners are next in the fourth team’s sights and the ladies will be hoping their opponents will be feeling blue after their visit to Berkshire this weekend.
Elsewhere, Tom Hope scored twice as the men’s fourth team extended their unbeaten run to four matches following a 2-2 draw with Marlow.
The draw leaves the men fourth in the South Central Men’s Division One table with just two points separating second and fifth places.
The fourth team, whose last defeat came at the end of January, welcome eighth placed Phoenix Reading II to Henwick on Saturday.
There were a couple of bruising defeats for the respective fifth teams with the ladies, who have lost their last seven, are without a goal in four matches and haven’t won since before Christmas, going down 4-0 at home to Yateley III and the men, who had been on a run of four games unbeaten, losing 4-1 at Stoke Green despite a goal from Willoughby Jordan.
There was much better news for the men’s masters, who scored five for the third South Central Men’s O40 Wessex Masters League game in a row in a 5-2 win over bottom side United Services Portsmouth.
Joe Ruggiero struck twice and there was a goal apiece for Andrew Hornby, Neil McCullen and Tristan Powell for the masters, who welcome third placed Havant Bees to Henwick on Saturday.
The men’s sixth team were on the right side of a five-goal thriller against South Central Men’s Division Three Thames second placed side Marlow VI, winning 3-2.
Eddie Pool, James Wood and William Jones were on target for the second-from-bottom sixth team, who will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to five games with a trip to mid-table Wycombe IV this weekend.
