Bognor hockey ladies keen to defend Vase

Get involved by sending your reports and team pictures to [email protected]

Bognor Town Ladies 5 East Grinstead III 4

Sussex Vase R1

Bognor edged past East Grinstead as they began their defence of the Sussex Vase.

They were missing some regulars and without any subs, and were taken by surprise when a young East Grinstead side exploded from the start.

Two goals slammed past the keeper in the first ten minutes, which stunned Bognor’s defence into action. Gradually Helen Arnold, Debbie Cox and Kim Agate eased into the game and got to grips with the free-running forwards.

Charlotte Cox and Theresa Cooper finally woke up and fired some balls up to Karen Harmer and June Rogers.

Charlotte Cox finally found a way through, dribbling in and scoring bottom left, then a textbook penalty corner effort put the sides even at half time.

A strong team talk by captain Theresa Cooper had the desired effect on the team psyche.

Charlotte Cox covered every inch of the pitch including the D, unleashing two trademark reverse-stick goals and slotting in another penalty corner strike, completing a five-goal individual haul.

East Grinstead never once gave up hope and continued fighting. Their persistance paid off with two goals, making for a tense finish. Bognor were equal to the task and maintained their lead, completing the first stage of their defence of the Vase.

The Fox Inn Felpham player of the match was awarded to Charlotte Cox.

BOGNOR: Theresa Cooper, Charlotte Cox, Debbie Cox, Helen Arnold, Kim Agate, June Rogers, Sue Perry, Karen Harmer, Nadia Muncey, Danielle Hannam.

Middleton Ladies 3 Chichester 1

Middleton, in their new kit, continued their winning streak with a cup victory against a team who play in the league above them.

They dominated from the start with clinical passing and the bulk of possession.

By half-time this was reflected in a scoreline of 3-0, with two of the goals scored by captain Charlotte Woollven.

Chichester raised their game in the second half but excellent defensive teamwork meant they were able to claw back only one goal.

Player of the match was Kelly Brown.

New Forest 0 Chichester III 4

Men’s Hampshire division two

Chichester moved up to second with a convincing victory against New Forest.

Within minutes, Chichester were ahead thanks to a quick counter-attack in which Moon’s fine work gave O’Boyle an easy finish.

Chichester’s pace up front was a constant problem for the opposition and following a delightful threaded pass from defender Farr, Clark rounded several New Forest players before laying the ball off to Troy, who thundered his shot past the keeper from the top of the D.

Clark supplied a fine through ball to O’Boyle and a fast counter-attack was finished off by Sowden.

In the second half, the defence of Farr, Gleeson, Pacey and Hagell held firm with support from keeper Hetterington. Chichester caught New Forest on the break again with a great team move finished by O’Boyle.

Despite great passing moves, Chichester could not add to their goal tally – but they were able to celebrate their third win in a row and their first clean sheet of the season.

CHICHESTER: Hetherington, Farr, Hagell, Gleeson, Pacey, Clark, Richardson, Sowden, Moon, O’Boyle, Troy, Dannatt, Hindmarsh, Gibbons.

Chichester Chipmunks 1 Mid Sussex III 1

Sussex Boys’ Development League

A tough battle took place at Kingsham as the Chipmunks fought hard to maintain their unbeaten run.

Chi started with players trialling new positions. The boys created many half chances with the attacks built from the new-look midfield.

MS took the lead but man of the match Jeremy Newton-Young in goal did a terrific job to keep out a few attacks mounted by the opposition.

The second half saw a step up in tempo after a team talk by coach Alex Thakore. George Stremes worked down the right and the forward trio started to look threatening.

A chance on the right saw James Stemp sweep in the cross and score a good goal to level.

The focus is now to turn possession into goals and continue the good start.