Men

Letchworth Men’s 1^st XI continued their fine 2012 form with a narrow win over Cambridge University. Scott Apps scored all of Letchworth goals early in the match but Cambridge University hit back to bring the score to 3-2 and Letchworth had much to thank keeper Dom Batchelor for holding onto the win.

The M2 came back from 2-0 down to draw with Luton and were unlucky not to win when the whistle went for a penalty corner at the death just as the ball went into the goal. The M3 narrowly beat St Albans thanks to two penalty corner strikes from Matt Wade. The 5^th XI were well beaten by promotion hopefuls Luton M3.

Ladies

Letchworth Ladies 1XI started the New Year with a well deserved win. The whole team went out in a very determined mood with Loren Christian opening the proceedings with a goal from a well worked short corner. Followed by some beautiful pitch play and a 2nd goal by Charlie Humber, assisted by Georgina Godfrey. Charlie Humber went on to score again making the final score 3 – 1.

Letchworth 4th XI took another giant step on the road to promotion from Five Counties Div 6 on Saturday. They were always in control of the game with ‘Player of the Match’ Liz Small & Katherine Lennard, in particular, creating a stranglehold in midfield. It wasn’t until midway through the first half though, that they eventually broke the deadlock. After a string of short corners, Alison Adams opened the scoring with a clever deflection. She added her second minutes later and Letchworth were able to relax, as the game headed towards the half time break. They upped the tempo in the second half with Tara Belcher making a series of surging runs down the right flank. More short corners followed but the Stevenage defence continued to frustrate the home attack. However, Letchworth were not to be denied more from their efforts. Jane Wareing added a third goal with a reverse stick shot & Emily Tollafield swept in the 4th over the Stevenage ‘keeper, whose outstanding performance prevented a double figure score line. Letchworth now have a 6 week break before their next league encounter.

Men

Ladies

Juniors Mixed U10

Letchworth Men’s 1^st XI recorded their 3^rd victory this season over Long Sutton and remain comfortably in the top half of the East Premier B Division. The 2^nd XI were left to rue a number of missed chances against Welwyn 1^st XI, whilst the 3^rd XI’s promotion hopes were set back by a disappointing draw against Welwyn 2^nd XI with youngster Gabriel Beecroft scoring Letchworth’s equaliser. The 4^th XI were made to work for their win with Dave Fisk netting from a penalty corner. The 5^th XI battled hard against 2^nd placed Welwyn 3^rd XI but found their goal keeper in fine form, Mark Ireland scoring for Letchworth.

Letchworth Ladies 1^st XI had a week off from their league campaign but need to pick up points this weekend when they entertain Sevenoaks 3^rd XI. The 3^rd XI were beaten 4-0 by Leighton Buzzard 2^nd XI but the 4^th XI romped to a 4-0 win over Hertford with a hat-trick from Haidee Castle and a goal from Rachael Broom. Letchworth were unable to add to their 4 goal advantage but they will be pleased with another victory in their push for promotion.

Men

Ladies

Letchworth 4th XI took the opportunity to blow out the post Xmas cobwebs & find their hockey playing legs again, in a friendly against near neighbours Stevenage, on Saturday. In spite of the long lay-off, they were quickly into their stride and took an early lead. Letchworth dominated possession & scored another 3 goals before half time. After the interval, they found it more difficult to break down the home defence. The problem was exacerbated by injuries to 3 players, which meant others had to play in unfamiliar positions. However, Letchworth were still able to add one more goal to their tally, to give them a well deserved 5-0 victory. Goal scorers were Haidee Castle (2), Rachael Broom (2) and Alison Adams.

Men

Ladies

Saturday saw three games between local rivals Blueharts and Letchworth men sections. Blueharts triumphed by the odd goal in both the 1^st XI and 2^nd XI matches and Blueharts 1^st XI now top the table in the Premier B Division. The clash between the respective 5^th XI teams ended all square at 1-1 with Gary Pond scoring for Letchworth. The 3^rd XI emerged narrow 3-2 winners over Bedford 4^th XI with goals from Matt Wade (penalty stroke), Tom McIntyre Brown and the winner from a drag flick by Rogan Pond. The 4^th XI went down 7-1 to Berkhamsted 2^nd XI despite scoring the opening goal through Gordon Hewlett.

The only ladies game saw Letchworth Ladies 3^rd XI win against Royston Ladies 2^nd XI. The Ladies 1^st XI will play their last league game against Waltham Forest on Saturday 17^th Dec and should they win they will leap frog over them in the league & ease any fears about relegation.

Men

Ladies

Letchworth 1st XI emerged 4-1 winners against Wisbech. Letchworth took an early lead after a fine reverse stick strike from Scott Apps, who went on to score all of the Letchworth goals. The 2nd XI recorded their 3rd win of the season with an emphatic 7-0 drubbing of Hertford, which included a hat-trick from Matthew Spreckley. The 3rd XI drew 1-1 with Blueharts 4th XI with youngster Gabriel Beecroft converting the Letchworth goal after a fine move & an unselfish pass from James Adams. The 4th, 5th & 6th XI teams all lost in their away fixtures as did the Masters Over 40’s team at Holcombe.

The Ladies 1st XI went down 4-1 to Upminster at home.

Letchworth 2′s were away at Bishop Stortford and had a tough game.  Despite starting strongly Bishop Stortford Scored from a short corner and from open play before half time.  In the second half despite having some good passages of play Letchworth were unable to prevent a good goal from Stortford.  The team did not give up and Helen Helwett scored from a short corner with about 10 minutes to go.  They were unable to add to this and the game ended Letchworth 1 , Bishop Stortford 3.  With one more game before Christmas Letchworth are currently joint third in the league table.

The 3rd team lost 6-0 away at top of the table St. Albans, with man of the match awarded to keeper Tash Ives.

Letchworth 4th XI travelled to Watford on Saturday and were quickly into their stride against an inexperienced Berkhamsted team. Haidee Castle opened the scoring, dribbling her way through the home defence before slotting the ball home. She added another from a short corner strike & Alison Adams made it 3-0 by half time. Berkhamsted worked their way back into contention as Letchworth took their foot off the pedal in the second half. Their persistence was duly rewarded with two well taken goals. Letchworth were rattled but with newcomer & joint ‘Player of the Match’ Tara Belcher exerting more & more influence in midfield, they were able to regain the initiative. Tara herself found the net, following some excellent approach work on the left. Then Haidee Castle completed her hat-trick, after Letchworth’s other joint ‘Player of the Match’ Vivika Turner opened up the Berkahamsted defence with a pin-point pass. Letchworth now travel to fellow table-toppers Saffron Walden, hoping to consolidate their title-chasing position.

Men

Men’s 1st XI have slipped to 7th in Premier B Division after narrowly losing to Colchester. The 2nd XI recorded only their second win of the season, whilst the 3rd XI fell to 4th position after losing to Stevenage. The 4th XI are now mid-table but the 5th XI are looking at a relegation battle after a heavy loss to Shefford.

Men

The Men’s 1^st XI suffered another defeat on Saturday despite taking an early lead through a penalty corner flick by Scott Apps. They then added a second which was inexplicably ruled out by the umpire. Ramgarhia hit back and went 3-1 up by half time. Letchworth were weakened by bad injuries to skipper Tom Wharton and Matt Smith and finished 6-2 down & slip to mid-table.

The 2^nd XI’s run of bad luck continued with a late goal scored against them to clinch the game for Berko.

The Men’s 3^rd XI continued their winning form with a comfortable 6-2 win, which included a hat trick by James Adams, a brace from Tom McIntyre-Brown and a goal from Tom Payne. They are now in 2^nd place in Division 5SW.

The Men’s 4^th XI narrowly lost to Luton Vagrants in a tough encounter, whilst the 5^th XI fielding a weakened team were well beaten by MBDA with youngster Will Barnett scoring the consolation goal.

The 6^th XI won 1-0 with former goal keeper Harry Knott scoring.

Letchworth Masters Over 40

Letchworth are now through to the 3rd round of the England Hockey Masters Cup which will take place on 4th December.

Ladies

The Ladies 1^st XI beat Crostyx L1 2-1 and move up to 5^th from bottom. They now play some of the teams near them in the table and if they can pick up points should move safely up the table.

Letchworth 2′s were at home against Tring. Letchworth had a slow start against Tring and found themselves 2 – 0 down within 15 minutes this was added to and by the end of the first half they found themselves 3 – O down. After half time and an inspirational team talk they picked themselves up and started to play hockey. They won a number of short corners and Helen Hewlett converted one to start the scoring. Amy Wareing, who had an outstanding game scored a cool penalty flick. Helen Hewlett then scored another goal from a short corner and a Tring player was sent to the sin bin and Letchworth began to believe that a comeback was possible. Deborah Wren then scored to win the game 4 – 3.

The Ladies 3 scored six against Luton L2 (their first win of the season).

Unfortunately injuries deprived Letchworth of both substitutes early in the game, with Rebekah Wade and Sheila Lucas both forced off. The remaining Letchworth players managed to do far better than the opposition at compensating for Luton’s slow pitch with decent ball pace, diminishing the home team’s advantage.

Letchworth found plenty of opportunity to practise their attacking short corner routine, with good work from Leanne Gateson and Louise Balcombe winning plenty of repeat short corners when a goal wasn’t forthcoming. The first goal went to Lesley Saunders and came from a straight strike short corner routine. The second goal went to Julie Fewings with a characteristic strike in open play.

Taking a 2-0 lead into the start of the second half, Letchworth could focus on playing decent hockey rather than chasing the game. Some good attacking link-ups from the back line created opportunities on the left and right of the pitch and the reward for good possession and passing hockey was a glut of goals. There were four Letchworth goals scored in the 2nd half, including a Louise Nicholson hat-trick. The first came early in the second half and, along with her third goal, was the reward for good positioning and great shot placement to beat the Luton keeper. Louise’s second came more by virtue of being in the right place at the right time, as a hard ball into the D from Rachel Allison connected with her stick and fired off into the corner of the goal before Louise had any chance to think about it.

The only blot on the defensive performance was a goal conceded midway through the second half; Tash had the shot covered until a cruel upwards deflection off Sue Saunders foot. Julie Fewings also got her 2nd goal with another strong strike from the top of the D. Credit must go to Luton’s talented goal-keeper who prevented the goal count from being any higher with a number of brave shot-stopping efforts. Yuliya Mucha’s performance gained her the Man of the Match award, with her switch to right-back ensuring the Sheila wasn’t missed.

In control from very early on, Letchworth L4 then contrived to concede a scrappy goal, when they were left exposed at the back & unable to clear goalkeeper Charlie Warren’s initial save. Unfortunately, panic set in & Letchworth lost their composure when in possession & in front of goal. In spite of forcing a string of short corners, they struggled to convert the numerous chances that came their way. Bedford failed to win any short corners themselves & rarely tested the 4s defence. As the clock ticked down, ‘Player of the Match’ Kelley Wray began to open up the Bedford defence, with a series of penetrating runs. Her determination was finally rewarded when Haidee Castle slammed home a well-worked short corner, from Caroline Nicholson’s ‘assist’, to bring the scores level.

Mens

After the M1 5-1 defeat to City of P’boro the team has slipped to 5th place in the Premier B Division.

The 2nd XI still seek their first win of the season but earned a draw against Southgate Adelaide. They are second from bottom in Division 3SW.

The 3rd XI went up to 2nd place with a narrow win over Hertford M2 and are now level on points with leaders Stevenage M2.

The M4 continued their recent good form with an emphatic 5-1 win over Potters Bar M2.

The M5 lost to St Albans and fell back to 3rd from bottom in Division 7SW.

Ladies

England Hockey Ladies Trophy

Letchworth Ladies 1st XI set off to a strong start on Saturday against Bishop’s Stortford, taking the lead with an early goal from Charlie Humber. Despite another two goals from Olivia Hewitt, Letchworth were unable to maintain their lead and found themselves 4-3 down. A final short corner, taken by Loren Christian, allowed Letchworth to finish the game with a 4-4 draw.

Letchworth Ladies 1st XI also had their first England Hockey Investec Women’s Trophy Cup game of the season on Sunday against local Shefford & Sandy 1’s; Letchworth were the dominant team throughout and secured a solid 3-0 win, goals from Jenny Johannes, Olivia Hewitt and Loren Christian – they travel to Henley on Thames in late November for the second round.

Letchworth Ladies won their 4th consecutive game, in a friendly fixture against Stevenage 5ths, on Saturday. They were quickly in command & were 2-0 up in the first quarter. Alison Adams opened the scoring & then Lorna Alcock roofed a deflection from a short corner. Stevenage rallied & forced a couple of short corners, ably dealt with with by the Letchworth defence. By then, however, Alison Adams had scored again. With a comfortable 3 goal cushion by half time, Letchworth were able to rotate their juniors at will, with “Player of the Match” Emily Tollafield & Alana Sullivan the pick of the crop. Haidee Castle, was a constant threat but was thwarted time & again by some outstanding saves from the Stevenage ‘keeper. Alison Adams added a 3rd ‘hat-trick’ goal to her tally & Letchworth ran out comfortable 4 – 0 winners. They travel to Bedford next week in a return to league action.