Solid away wins for Magnums and M5s bolstered fortunes for Southgate on October 12

Southgate 5s bounced back from an opening day defeat with a hard fought 3-1 victory away against London Academicals 3s. The 5s took a 3-0 lead with goals from Ben Millson, Finlay Batchelor, and a well-struck short corner from Dave Richardson. With only 11 players, the second half was a dogged defensive performance, with the home side pressing hard for a way back into the match. There were admirable performances throughout the whole team, but the clear MoM was Vivek Dongha, who impressed on his 5s debut with his exciting stick skills, link up play and work rate.

Magnums beat Bromley & Beckenham away by 3-0. Colin Warne and Jatin Patel (2) were the scorers. Patel was also man of the match.

Flagons went down 1-2 to Old Georgians despite a determined effort against a well-drilled side. Captain Greg Wildisen said: “We were generally well set up and although we did have to defend for some extended periods, there were some very positive signs of possession hockey, especially in the second half. More treasured possession and faster ball speed made a noticeable difference. Also a terrific reverse stick finish from Scott to level the scores at half time. A shame we couldn’t find a second half goal to secure what would have been a well deserved point.”

In other results:

M2s lost 7-3 v Oxford OBU 1s

M3s won 2-0 v Indian Gymkhana 2s

M4s lost 3-2 v London Royals 1s

M3As lost 6-2 v Stevenage 2s

Tankards A lost 3-1 v Berkhamsted & Hemel Hempstead 3s

Tankards Y lost 2-1 v Letchworth 5s

Tankards Z lost 4-1 v Harpenden 4s