Men

Letchworth 1st XI continued their unbeaten start to the season with a hard fought win over Long Sutton & go top of Premier B Division on goal difference. The 2nd XI picked up their first points of the season with a draw against Welwyn, whilst the 3rd XI rose to mid table after beating Welwyn’s 2nd XI. However, the 4th XI remain pointless in Division 6SW whilst the 5th XI suffered another heavy defeat.

England Hockey Masters Over 40 Round One

Ladies

Letchworth Ladies 1st XI were on top form beating Havering 3-0, the only team to beat us last year. Letchworth could have scored three goals within the first 10 minutes and looked the stronger side, but left it until a penalty corner mid way through the first half to put one away with a fantastic strike from Loren Christian. Some tight defending from Jenny Cross, Ashleigh Godfrey and Helen Harbon, kept Letchworth in the lead until Letchworth finally secured the game with another two goals from Loren; one from open play, the second from a short corner. A great game with great confidence and commitment from all players.

Men

Men’s Masters Over 50

Letchworth Men’s 1st XI took an early lead from a penalty corner by Scott Apps but Harpenden fought back to take a 2-1 lead before another penalty corner was illegally stopped on the line by the body of a Harpenden defender. The resulting penalty stroke was calmly put away by Matt Smith.

The Men’s 2nd XI but were well beaten 4-1, whilst the 3rd XI drew 2-2 with West Herts (Nick Cole scoring both goals for Letchworth). Both the 4th XI and 5th XI lost heavily.

On Sunday Letchworth Masters over 50 Team played reigning Masters Plate winners Holcolmbe and narrowly lost 2-1 with Simon Wallduck scoring for Letchworth.

Ladies

Letchworth Ladies 1st XI put up a strong fight and were unlucky to come away without any points against Chelmsford 2s on Saturday. It was a tense, end to end game with Letchworth taking the lead in the first 4 minutes. Chelmsford were quick to equalise and a second followed in quick succession. An excellent short corner saw Loren Christian bring the score level. Another goal from both teams left it at 3-3 for half time.

In the second half, the heat seemed to get the better of Letchworth as Chelmsford broke through scoring a string of goals. Letchworth were able to re-group and get another 2 back, including a short corner in the last minute to end the game with a 7-5 defeat; Loren Christian scoring 4 and Olivia Hewitt scoring 1.

Men

Ladies

Juniors

Two juniors from Letchworth Rogan Pond & Ed Bottomley represented their club at the Tier 1 Regional U16 Championships where they were in the winning team (Northwood) against Tonbridge and Bury St Edmunds winning both games 4-1.

Letchworth Men had 3 games against local rivals Blueharts and had mixed fortunes. The 1st XI had an emphatic 5-3 win in their opening league game, whilst the 2nd XI lost narrowly to Blueharts 2nd XI, whilst the 5th XI narrowly beat Blueharts 5th XI 2-1. The 3rd XI were left to rue a penalty stroke miss by Connor Pond and emerged 3-1 losers to Bedford 4th XI. Letchworth 4th XI were narrowly beaten by Berko 2nd XI, whilst the Extra 5ths won their opening league game 2-0 with goals from Gary Pond & debutant Ryan Gawley.

The Ladies 1st XI continued their unbeaten league run in Division 1 South with a 2-2 draw against Waltham Forest Ladies. Although the 1st XI started lethargically, with keeper Tracey Gateson keeping the score line down to 2-0 with some fantastic saves. Letchworth finally came to life in the last 20 minutes of the game with Ashleigh Godfrey making a save on the line and Loren Christian and Simone Pelger scoring to earn them a 2-2 draw.

Men

(all friendlies with Letchworth scorers in brackets)

Letchworth Men’s 1st XI had their last friendly game before starting their league campaign next week away to Blueharts. They were heavily beaten by Premier A side West Herts.

The 2nd XI played against fellow Division 3SW rivals Hertford & earned a hard fought draw.

The 3rd XI travelled to Cambridge Nomads going 4-0 up before the Nomads fought back to 4-3 but held on.

The 4th XI took on Hertford M3 and were 1-1 at half time before Hertford took control of the game & emerged as comfortable winners.

Ladies

Letchworth ladies 1st XI made a convincing start to the league with a 3-3 draw against Bishop Stortford. Letchworth were able to defend a string of short corners against them, instead taking the lead by scoring one of their own with a deflection from Simone Pelger. Sarah Parkhouse returned this season with a goal just before half time, and already we have a potential goal of the season which was well worked from defence to see Charlie Humber put it in the back of the net: A great first game to build on.

For the second week running Letchworth 4th XI found themselves struggling to cope, against more highly ranked opposition, in a pre-season friendly. Playing at Luton, on a heavy-going & difficult surface, they were very quickly ‘under the cosh’. “Player of the Match”, goalkeeper Hope Tolliday, kept the visitors in the game with a string of reflex saves in the first half. Letchworth were overrun by 3 or 4 key Luton players, who dominated the game with their superior stick skills & some intimidating physical play. 3-0 down at half time, Letchworth needed to re-group & shore up their defence. With a change in formation & a couple of positional ‘tweeks’, they hauled themselves back in to the match. Becky Wade, Ellie Georgiou & Katherine Lennard gained more control in midfield and Haidee Castle nullified several attacks back in defence. Letchworth were duly rewarded for their toil, when Jodie Deards put the finishing touch to Izzy Harada’s cross, in only her second game of hockey. However, the goal only re-energised the Luton midfield, bringing more pressure on the Letchworth defence. In the dying minutes of the game, they added a 4th to their tally.

Men

Just friendlies played last weekend, Men’s 1^st XI narrowly beat Saffron Walden 3-2, M2 lost 3-1 to Royston 1^stXI & M3 bear Royston 2^nd XI 1-0.

Letchworth Vets visited Rosenheim in Bavaria losing 4-0 to the hosts & 6-1 to Munich Avivos.

Ladies

The Ladies Veterans side hosted a tournament on Sunday for local teams. Bishops Stortford narrowly won with St Albans runners-up.

Letchworth Ladies 4th XI 1  Bedford 4th XI 4

Letchworth Ladies 4th XI opened the new season with a ‘friendly’ against their Bedford counterparts. Fielding several newcomers, Letchworth found the going tough against far more experienced opponents. They were soon penned in their own half, from which they could only counter-attack sporadically. Bedford scored 2 before the break but Letchworth had more possession in the second half. This was rewarded shortly after the visitors’ 3rd goal, when Fran Lennard converted Letchworth’s first short corner, with a stunning strike. Unfortunately, Bedford quickly added a 4th but Letchworth can be proud of their effort in the sultry conditions. ‘Player of the match’ Charlie Warren in the Letchworth goal, kept the score line respectable & 14 year old Emily Tollafield also made a promising contribution, in her first full game at senior level. Next week, the team travel to Luton for another friendly fixture.

The Ladies 1^st XI begin their league season next week with a home match versus Bishops Stortford.

Juniors

Ed Bottomley and Rogan Pond represented the East Region in some trial matches at Northwood. Their team beat Bury St Edmunds 9-1 and Tonbridge 1-0.