The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Josh Baker hit a hat-trick as Long Sutton 1st romped to 4-0 victory over Norwich City 3rd in East Men’s Hockey League Division 2N on Saturday.
Buoyed by last week’s performance, Sutton started well and soon opened the scoring through Baker at the Peele Leisure Centre.
Nick Ellis then deflected Dan Batten’s well-driven shot beyond the excellent Norwich keeper to make it 2-0 at the break, before Baker’s second of the game killed off the contest.
The game then meandered to a close, but there was still time for Baker to round off his treble to seal the points.
Up in Premier B, Spalding 1st suffered a 5-2 defeat at Blueharts 1st in their first game of 2019.
Slow out of the blocks, they soon fell 3-0 down before a pair of Stuart Cunnington shorts made it 3-2 at half-time.
The comeback didn’t continue after the break and the hosts added two more goals to seal the points.
Down in Division 4NW, goals from Luke Jackson and Luke Proctor gave Long Sutton 2nd a 2-1 win and Cambs City 5th to move themselves five points clear at the top.
There was also a fantastic 3-2 success for Spalding 4th in Division 5NW, as they defeated Cambridge South 4th. Two Darren Grooby goals and a late Alex Cunnington winner got the job done.
There was an emphatic win for Spalding 5th in Division 6NW (N) as they thumped local rivals Bourne Deeping 6th 4-0.
Goals from Matt Gedney, Darren Willson, Tim Bland and Andy Barlow moved the side into mid-table.
Just above them are Long Sutton 3rd, who lost 2-1 against Alford 2nd despite a Jon Goodley strike.
- Spalding Poachers 1st kicked off their 2019 fixtures in East Women’s Hockey League Division 2NW with a big 4-1 success over Newmarket 1st.
After a five-week break, they started well and led 1-0 at half-time thanks to Maddie Haunch’s effort. A Karen Timby rocket doubled the lead, before Newmarket pulled one back.
They piled on the pressure, but strikes from Caroline Chester-O’Neill and Ellie Holland secure the spoils for the Poachers.
Divisional rivals Long Sutton ladies 1st are now in the bottom two after slipping up 2-1 at Alford 1st.
Jemima Dodd was their sole scorer in what was a very frustrating afternoon for the Sutton girls.
In Division 3NW, AJ Taplin’s early goal failed to stop Spalding Poachers 2nd going down 4-1 at Horncastle 1st.
There was better news for Spalding Poachers 3rd in Division 4NW (N), who beat Horncastle 2nd 3-1 with goals from Emma Gent (2) and Kate Amess.
In the same division, Long Sutton ladies’ 2nd were picked off 5-1 by Leadenham 1st. Despite a player-of-the-match showing from Rhian Goodge and Lisa Baker’s strike, it was a one-sided affair.
Saturday fixtures: Men – Spalding 1st v Wapping 2nd (12.30pm); Bury St Edmunds 1st v Sutton 1st (noon); Spalding 3rd v Cambs City 5th (11am); Alford 1st v Spalding 2nd (2pm); Sutton 2nd v CoP 6th (2.30pm); St Ives 3rd v Spalding 4th (3.30pm); Sutton 3rd v Spalding 5th (11.30am). Women – Spalding 1st v Cambridge Nomads 1st (2pm); Sutton 1st v St Ives 2nd (1pm); Wisbech 2nd v Spalding 2nd (2.30pm); Alford 2nd v Sutton 2 (12.30pm).
