Leaders Saxons blast magnificent seven

South Saxons Hockey Club's men's first team consolidated its six-point lead at the top of the table by seeing off the bottom side.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Feb 2016, 17:18 BST
Updated 2nd Feb 2016, 17:20 BST

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

Alex Coombs was South Saxons' man of the match in the 7-1 victory away to Worthing IIAlex Coombs was South Saxons' man of the match in the 7-1 victory away to Worthing II
Alex Coombs was South Saxons' man of the match in the 7-1 victory away to Worthing II

A first half hat-trick from Olli Beal put Saxons on the road to a 7-1 victory away to Worthing II in Sussex Open Hockey League Division One on Saturday.

The centre-back pairing of Paddy Cornish and Toby Reed were on a stag do and midfielder Jon Meredith had work commitments so in came Ed Hooten, Ed Stroud and Dom Ford.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A quick start from Saxons saw Beal break free and set up captain Jamie Busbridge for a good finish to put the away side ahead. Beal then rounded-off a move as Saxons went two-up within the first 10 minutes.

A lapse in the Saxons defence meant Worthing got one back, but Saxons responded soon afterwards as Beal coolly slotted home another. Some good hockey from the experienced Ford and Stroud led to Alex Coombs finding Beal with an aerial to complete his hat-trick.

Saxons went in at half time 4-1 up and the second half was a bit more open with Worthing enjoying some time on the ball, but good defensive play from Chris Meredith and James Riley meant that nothing came from it.

As the game went on, Andrew Orr was more involved, breaking into the Worthing D and causing problems for the opposition defence. A classic Gavin Cload run ended with a pass to Tudor Stainsby and his throughball found Busbridge, who scored with a delightful touch through the goalkeeper’s legs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Saxons tried to push on as the game drew to a close. Good work from Orr and Stroud found Coombs and his reverse stick shot was fired into the top of the net.

The last goal came from a classic Beal break and a good bit of skill found Hooten, whose ‘shot’ found its way into the bottom corner as Busbridge distracted the goalkeeper.

Some good saves from Saxons goalkeeper Mike Sutton at the end made sure of a comfortable victory. Coombs was man of the match.

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1 Make this website your homepage

2 Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/pages/Sport-Sussex

3 Follow us on Twitter @SportSussex

4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!