Promotion fight continues for Newbury & Thatcham Hockey

Newbury and Thatcham Men’s 1st XI slipped off the pace in the race for promotion from Division 1 North of the South Central League.

Victory over Aylesbury would have kept Newbury hot on the heels of second-placed Reading 3rd.

But mid-table Aylesbury battled to a thrilling 3-2 win to put a dent in Newbury’s hopes of finishing in a top-two spot.

Luke Morley produced a man-of-the-match display and Doug Clayton and Matt Martin were on target, but Newbury just came up short.

Cameron Dunlop was the star man as Newbury 2nd breathed new life into their Division 2 North promotion challenge.

Dunlop blasted a hat-trick in Newbury’s 3-1 win over Phoenix Reading to keep them in the chasing pack.

Newbury 3rd have it all to do if they are to claim a promotion spot in Division 3 North.

A lone goal from John Williams was not enough as they lost 3-1 to Amersham & Chalfont 3rd – and that means they can’t afford any more slip-ups in the closing weeks.

Newbury 4th proved too strong for bottom club South Berkshire 5th to stay fourth in Division 1 Thames.

Chris Obin and William Jones were on target in a 2-0 win, while Rogan Lang was named man of the match.

Ollie Pace was in top form as Newbury 5th powered to a 3-0 win at Maidenhead 3rd in Division 2 Thames.

Pace hit a hat-trick, but the man-of-the-match award went to Jonty Bathe.

Newbury 6th look set for a mid-table finish in Division 3 Thames after losing 3-2 to Henley 5th, Stephen Davies and Warwick Brown grabbing their goals.