WEST HOCKEY LEAGUE
MEN’S PIRAN DIVISION ONE
Duchy Seconds 0 Bude 5
THOMAS Hall scored a hat-trick as Bude continued their fine start to the season in West Cornwall, writes Andy Davis.
After a cagey opening ten minutes, Hall was rotated on up front and soon made an impact.
As the visitors improved they eventually broke the deadlock as Hall remained calm on the edge of D to slot the ball into the bottom corner from open play.
This helped settle Bude and they began to create some decent chances but the final pass or shot was slightly off target; however they did not panic and persevered well, while at the other end the defence was in miserly mood.
Bude’s second goal came two thirds of the way through the first half as a quick movement down the right ended with Henry Gwynn-Thomas being in the right place at the right time to sweep the ball home.
More attacking chances came and went for Bude as it stayed at 2-0.
The break did them well as a much-improved second half performance saw Bude steadily pull away from their opposition.
The third goal came early as a determined run from Robin Jennings at the back saw him ride a number of challenges, and when everyone else had stopped expecting a foul to be given, he kept going and squeezed the ball forward to Gwynn-Thomas on the edge of D who turned and fired a perfect shot into the corner.
Some excellent pressure from the restart saw Bude turn over the ball in the middle, and after a couple of neat passes, a hard straight ball found Hall who spun his way into the D where he pinged a low reverse stick shot past a stranded keeper to practically seal the win within five minutes of the restart.
The result and win was signed, sealed and delivered midway through the half as man of the match Hall as he completed his hat-trick with another excellent finish.
WEST HOCKEY LEAGUE WOMEN’S TRELAWNEY DIVISION ONE
Bodmin 3 Bude 0
THE Seasiders’ unbeaten start to the season went up in smoke on Saturday as Bodmin ran out 3-0 winners at the Dragon Leisure Centre.
The visitors had a scare in the warm-up as Izzy Wickett received a ball to the face, but bravely carried on to take her place in the starting line-up.
From the start Bodmin were attacking very aggressively high up the pitch and very quickly Bude struggled to find their feet and conceded two quick goals.
The defence headed by goalkeeper Jo Timmins (Chloe Hall, Lottie Davies, Clarey Westaway and Willow Du Plessis) battled on with two players Lottie and Willow obtaining injuries.
Bude subsequently had to reshuffle, with Naomi Hatcher dropping back into centre defence and Izzy Wickett stepping back into right-back.
Despite a solid effort from the midfield of Grace Bickensteth, Hannah Maloney, Phoebe Gannon and Charlotte Prime dropping back and supporting the defence, Bodmin scored their third from open play.
Bude did have moments of their own with some good passing down the wing, while they narrowly missed the target from short corners and had several breaks down the right-hand side.
Bude regrouped at half-time and not only looked much more solid, and had some moments going forward, including from forwards Briony Varcoe and Evelyn Varcoe.
Tensions ran high which included Lottie Davies receiving a green card for obstruction, and a home player for a stick tackle, but no further goals were forthcoming.
Player of the match went to Grace Bickensteth for her hard work on the left wing, while the ‘Donkey of the day’ went to Clare Westaway for taking out two of her own players!
Bude return to action on Saturday when they welcome Newquay Seconds (12.30pm).
The team would also like to thank Karen Goodenough Accountancy for sponsoring the match ball for the previous week’s home match against Plymouth Lions Thirds.