BRISTOL & West Hockey Club Men’s 1st team have made a more than solid start to life in their new division.
After three games the team, which plays and trains at Mangotsfield School, sat in third place of the West Premiership table as the Voice went to press.
Some fortune did play a part in the first result, as Swansea were caught fielding unregistered players: this resulted in a one point deduction for the team and a 5-0 walkover handed to us.
Since then, we have taken on more local opposition in the form of Firebrands and then Wotton-under-Edge.
B&W took the lead when Charlie Williams scored the first goal in the Premiership for the club. Brands snatched a 2-2 draw in the dying moments of the game with a crash-ball into the circle, which found its way to an unmarked striker on the back post.
Another home game followed against Wotton. It was a fairly even game at half time with the score 0-0, but a lack of discipline from Wotton proved to be their undoing, as they went down to nine men at one point.
B&W needed no further invitation to take all three points, securing a well-deserved 2-0 victory. The haul of seven points is a great reward for the opening three games.
The lads are relishing the competition against some of the top clubs in the region and aim to continue to prove they belong at the top.
Elsewhere, the Men’s 2s have also made a good start to the new season, sitting in third after victories over Swansea A (5-2) and Yate (2-1), with the most recent trip to Bridgend (1-1) bringing a hard-fought point.
The Ladies 1s have so far had a more difficult start to life in their new league following the brilliant success of promotion last season. Results so far include narrow defeats by 2-1 and 2-0 respectively to Bath Buccs and Firebrands, and a 7-1 loss to Clifton Robinsons, who seem to be in a league of their own. Despite the results, the Ladies remain determined that they are more than capable of competing in this league.
Ladies 2s are off to a flyer, sitting joint top with Dursley 1s on 9pts after victories against Wotton-under-Edge (3-2), Badminton & Pucklechurch (3-0) and Redland (3-0) to put them on the path to promotion. The 2s narrowly missed out on going up last year and there’s no doubt that they are more than motivated to secure top spot this time around.
To find out more visit
www.bandwhc.org.uk.
Harry Bryant