Doug at the double in men's defeat but ladies fourth team make it 13 unbeaten

There were mixed results on an action-packed weekend for Newbury and Thatcham Hockey Club this weekend, with defeats for both the men's first and second teams, a draw and a defeat for the women's first team but a win for the women's fourth team that extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches.

New captain Chris Randall scored but the men's first team finished on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller, losing 4-3 at South Central Men's Division 1 strugglers Banbury 2nd.

Doug Clayton bagged a brace but the men suffered a fourth defeat in six games, leaving them looking over their shoulders at the bottom of the table, with just eight points separating the bottom five sides.

"Of course we're disappointed not to win, but we're trying not to focus too much on results at the moment," Randall said

"We're confident enough with where we are in the table but we feel like we've lost our way a bit, so we're going back to basics.

"We're looking to implement a new way of playing which will stand us in good stead for the rest of this season and then the next one and I think, in truth, that's where our focus lies now."

The men, who are in need of a couple of wins, welcome second placed Sonning to Henwick on Saturday.

The second team are also enduring an indifferent run and suffered a fifth defeat in eight, going down 3-0 at home to South Central Men's Division 2 North title contenders Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead.

Meanwhile, the ladies first team, who haven't won in seven and are second bottom of the South Central Women's Division 1 North table, did at least avoid a third successive defeat, holding Amersham and Chalfont 2nd to a goalless draw.

The out of sorts ladies second team, who have one one of their last seven South Central Women's Division 1 North matches, managed just one point from two games, drawing 2-2 with league leaders Windsor 2nd on Saturday following a brace from Nieve Murray before losing 1-0 to Staines 2nd on Sunday.

There were a number of more positive results.

Ben Cook's eighth goal of the season fired the men's third team to a 1-0 win over South Central Men's Division 4 North rivals Henley 3rd, their ninth win in the last 12.

The women's third team made it four wins and four cleans sheets in a row following back-to-back victories at the weekend, thumping Wallingford 4th 3-0 on Saturday thanks to goals from Alex Alewood, Katy Hall and Robyn Matthews before edging past Maidenhead 4th 1-0 on Sunday, with Kirsty Stokes scoring the winner.

The ladies fourth team celebrated four points from their weekend double header and moved to the top of the South Central Women's Division 3 Thames table, extending their incredible run following a 5-0 win over Scarlet Runners and a 1-1 draw with South Berkshire 4th.

Elsewhere, the men’s fourth team lost for the first time in five, losing a tight game 2-1 to Phoenix Reading 2nd despite Iain D’Arcy’s first goal of the season.

The men’s fifth team drew 0-0 with South Berkshire, the women’s fifth team suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Harlow High Wycombe and the men’s masters lost for the first time in four, going down 3-1 against South Central Men’s O40 Wessex Masters League title contenders Havant Bees in spite of another goal from top scorer Hugh Thompson.