Royston Hockey Club’s ladies’ 1sts ended the season on a high by securing third place in the league with a 4-1 win over City of Peterborough 2nds.
The teams were all square at the break after the visitors cancelled out Ali Carroll’s opening goal.
The second half saw Carroll get her second goal and Sophie Gathercole and Sarah Buckerfield get their names on the scoresheet also.
The 3rds won 3-2 against Chiltern.
The Crows to took two teams made up of players from the 2nds, 3rds and 4ths to the Stevenage Grass Tournament, and came away with a third place trophy. The scorers were: Harriet Barker; Alex McGarry (four); Sophie Biddlecombe; Abbie Jones (two); Kerry Alexander; and Martine Powley.
In the men’s section the 1sts and 3rds were on the wrong end of heavy defeats, going down 6-0 at Blueharts and 9-0 at Hertford respectively.
There were better results, however, for the 2nds and 4ths.
The 2nds finished off the season by drawing 2-2 with Rickmansworth. The game ended goalless thanks to the defensive effort of Ben Jones, Adam Greenhill, Oli Stewart, Steve Priest and goalkeeper Robert Frost.
Early in the second half Rickmansworth scored from a short corner routine. Manager Darren Hicks made some positional changes and Royston equalised through Mark Jacobs. Royston doubled the took the lead from a short corner, finished off by Adam McKenzie, but Rickmansworth hit back to earn a point.
The 4ths edged a tense match against Bishop’s Stortford, winning 1-0.
The early game was played mainly in the midfield with both sides testing each others back lines. It was the home side that forced the first save of the game and then saw a sharply taken snap shot, crash off the far post.
Undeterred by these threats Royston kept to their game plan and played out wide whenever possible, with Colin Bateman and Wes Trotti supported by Chris Berry, Tim Yow and Nick Freeman.
The solitary goal game came late in the first half from Nick Freeman, who skillfully redirected a Tim Yow drive from a short corner breakdown.
In the second half Stortford stepped up the pace but failed to convert any chances.
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