HOCKEY PICTURES: Determination and tenacity sees Ladies 1st XI to victory

PICTURES - Ladies 1st XI on their way to a 3-2 win over Stourport 2nd XI - BY MIKE BAKER

While other sports have been suffering in the bad weather, Rugby & East Warwickshire Hockey Club have continued with their full fixture list.

Good results this week keep the Men’s 1st XI second in Midlands 1 and the Ladies’ 1st XI fourth in the Midlands Premier and reigning national cup champions, the Over 40s vets side have reached the final again.

REWHC Men’s 040s 3 Belper O40s 2

Rugby’s vets secured their return ticket to the national final to defend their title with a win over Belper.

Goals came to Chris Graham (2) and Luke Hurle as Rugby utilised deflections and tap-ins to stay ahead of Belper in an open game.

REWHC Men’s 1st 3 Edgbaston 1

Two penalty corner deflections dispatched by Adam Hewitt and a well finished team goal for Tom Robson saw Rugby stay ahead of Edgbaston throughout and take an important three points.

REWHC Men’s 2nd 0 Telford & Wrekin 1st 3

A good defensive effort for Rugby helped keep the score line low as they struggled to hold possession for long periods against a strong Telford side. Good work and aerials throughout saw Euan earn himself Man of the Match.

REWHC Men’s 3rd 2 Burton 2nd 3

Despite going down by three goals in the first half, the game remained close and Rugby were able to push for a comeback as Alex Salter scored twice, whilst good defensive play from Man of the Match Russ Watling helped keep Burton at bay.

REWHC Men’s 4th 7 Tamworth 2nd 2

A Richard Cook hat-trick earned him Man of the Match, whilst goals to Rob Hedderwick, David Manning, Nick Foster and Lee Marriott saw Rugby enjoy a great performance against Tamworth, despite missing two of three penalty strokes with attempts by David Odwell and Josh Russell.

REWHC Men’s 5th 3 Berkswell & Balsall Common 0

Man of the Match Bradley Ferris scored twice in front of goal whilst Giles Morrison calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to help Rugby take a three-goal lead into the second half. Despite a strong push from Berskwell, Rugby were able to hold on for the win.

REWHC Men’s 6th 2 Warwick 4th 1

A fantastic effort in defence saw Theo earn himself Man of the Match whilst Charlie Darbyshire’s two goals helped see Rugby ahead of a very strong Warwick side in the dying moments of the game.

REWHC Mixed 3 Leominster Mixed 0

Unfortunately Leominster had to forfeit the game, unable to raise a team. Rugby move on to the next round of the mixed competition.

REWHC Ladies 1st XI 3 Stourport 2nd XI 2

Rugby & East Warwickshire Ladies 1st XI battled the elements in a strong 3-2 victory over Stourport 2nds, with player of the match Kirby Harris scoring twice whilst Stacey Keeley scored another from a well worked penalty corner routine.

Great tenacity and determination from Rugby helped them stay ahead of Stourport throughout the game.

REWHC Ladies 2nd 0 Olton 3rd 3

A tough game saw Rugby play very well as a team, despite the result as they faced a very good Olton side.

REWHC Ladies 3rd 2 Khalsa Leamington 4th 1

A good game for Rugby saw them implement their mid game tactics well and build upon their training sessions to put in a strong defensive performance whilst goals came to Nadine Bell and Regan Walker.

REWHC Ladies 4th 1 Khalsa Leamington 5th 1

A goal to Jackie Adlum saw Rugby go ahead early on, whilst Player of the Match was Natalia Perzylo, who volunteered to be in goal this week and did an excellent job facing against numerous Khalsa penalty corners.

Despite Rugby holding on until midway into the second half, Khalsa eventually found an equaliser.

REWHC Ladies 4th 0 Solihull Blossomfield 3rd 0

A very tight game saw neither team find the goal despite chances to both sides. Player of the Match was Megan Wells for a great shift at right wing.

Fixtures for Saturday:

Men’s 1st v Sutton Coldfield 1st away

Men’s 2nd v Stone 1st – Hartfield 1400

Men’s 3rd – North Notts 1st – Rugby School 1200

Men’s 4th – Atherstone Ad 2nd away

Men’s 5th – University of Warwick 4th – Rugby School 1200

Men’s 6th – N’ton Saints 4th away

Men’s 7th – Hampton in Arden 4th – Hart field 1530

Ladies 1st – Loughborough 2nd away