South Nottinghamshire mens' hockey teams have mixed results

There were mixed results for the four South Nottinghamshire men's hockey teams at the weekend.

Bingham-based South Nottinghamshire 1sts took on Beeston and won 3-1.

The team started positively, hunting actively for the ball and feeding shrewd passes to the forward line.

Good chemistry developed between Harry Beedham and Carlos Turner, which led to a great goal by Beedham.

This was followed just before half-time by a well-placed strike by Daniel Recaldin to make it 2-0.

Strong passing, spatial awareness, and efficient defending by South Nottinghamshire led to further opportunities.

This culminated in the last quarter with a well-taken goal by Nathan Gerrard.

The 2nds took on Burton on Trent and lost 3-0.

South Nottinghamshire started well with its more highly experienced team up against the speed and energy of the Burton youth.

Kai Thornton, Robbie Humphries, and Tom Brackenbury played outstanding games throughout for South Nottinghamshire.

The midfield of Ben Walker, Finn Collins, and Gary Pickering managed to cut through the Burton defenders and created some good scoring chances.

However, these were not converted into goals.

In contrast, Burton were given few chances but took advantage of those opportunities.

In the 3rds' match, South Nottinghamshire drew 2-2 with Ashby.

South Nottinghamshire rained down attack after attack on the Ashby goal but a succession of bad luck for them and great skill by the Ashby keeper kept the score to 0-0 at half-time.

Shortly after the interval, a well-drilled penalty corner resulted in Team Captain Stuart Croston’s strike rattling the Ashby goal backboard.

Ashby crashed back into the contest with speed and skill.

This resulted in an Ashby shot trickling over the South Notts goal line to make the score 1-1.

The pace of the game increased with mounting confidence by both teams.

Club captain Neil Batty rattled the goal backboard to make it 2-1.

Undaunted, Ashby never gave up and managed to score a scrappy goal in the closing minutes for a final score of 2-2.

The 4ths played North Nottinghamshire but were defeated 5-1 in a close-fought contest that was not reflective in the score.

North Nottinghamshire opened the scoring with a fantastic goal, but almost immediately Souths struck back with a passage of brilliant and elegant passing play, resulting in Mark Roe squeezing the ball between the North Notts keeper and the post.

Just before half-time, North Notts scored a beautifully-taken breakaway goal to make it 2-1.

North Nottinghamshire scored three more opportunistic goals, converting beautifully on the chances presented.

Club officials said there were many positives to take away from this game for the South Nottinghamshire side with Cole Cadman, Dan Pearson, Stan Jackson, Tom Cross, and Adam Board all playing well.