The men’s 2s were at home to Chelmsford 1s. Both teams played some very good hockey and created good chances to score. Barney Tedder in the Loughts goal produced some excellent saves as did the Chelmsford keeper. The only goal of the game came from Martyn Lear who was rewarded for his good decision making when his cross from the baseline to oncoming forwards was deflected into the goal by a Chelmsford defender. Loughts 2s are now just 2 points off the lead of the East Area premier division. The men’s 3s were away against Brentwood 1s and despite playing well lost 4-2 but with Bishop Stortford 1s also losing remain just 3 points off the lead in second place. The men’s 4s also had 1st team opposition and succumbed 1-6 away at Redbridge & Ilford 1s .

All four of Simon Beckley’s Willows teams took home the three points. It was a very one sided affair in the match between the men’s 5s Willows and Havering 3s with the match finishing 11-1. The men’s 6s Willows Woodsmen also had a big win beating Braintree 4s by 5-1. The men’s 7s were at home t Saffron Walden 6s and won 4-2 with goals from Devindra Singh, Sam Kendrick, Kiran de Souza and Rehan Sheikh and remain second in their division. The men’s 8s Willows Axemen were awarded a 5-0 walk over against Braintree 5s who could not muster an XI. The Supervets were away against Epsom Old School and drew 2-2.

Women’s teams

Harleston Magpies W2s 0 Old Loughtonians W1s 3
Old Loughtonians Womens 1s made the long trip to The Nest to face Harleston Magpies W2s and returned from the Suffolk Norfolk border with all 3 points following an outstanding team performance.
The first half was an even affair with efforts on goal at a premium with both defences in fine form. Player of the Match Chloe Joarder and her defensive partner Stevie Southall were always in control and thwarted Magpies advances towards the Loughts D.
Head Coach Miranda Baldwin told Loughts to continue to believe in the game plan and stay patient during her half time team talk. This was excellent advice as 8 minutes into the second half Loughts won a penalty corner which Adele Sammons slapped into the D and from the defensive block India Blake found Stevie Southall whose calm finish on reverse made it 1-0.
The second goal came on 55 minutes with Emily Holmes feeding Katie Gleeson in the left hand forward channel. Gleeson produced a superb backhand cross which skipper Tash Patient turned home from close range.The contest was effectively ended with nine minutes remaining as Patient’s reverse dink found Emily Holmes free inside the D and her sublime first touch took the ball away from the keeper and Holmes finished with aplomb.
Next week Luxborough Lane will host the East Area premier division top of the table clash as Norwich City visit with both teams tied on 18 points from the first 7 games.
The ladies 2s were away against Hertford 1s and came home with a 3-1 win with an impressive defensive display, resolute goalkeeping from Alisha Evans and goals from Kayuki Sen, Kareena Myers and Cerys Edwards. Dottie Blake was stand out man of the match for her many incisive runs forward. Next week the team play so far unbeaten Crostyx 1s at home in what promises to be an exciting local derby.
The ladies 3s are now just 3 points off the lead after blitzing Brentwood 3s 8-0. By half time they were 5-0 up and then slotted in another 3 for good measure in the second half. Karen Leach bagged a handy hattrick, Elis Halil and Jess Donnelly each scored 2 and Ellie Joyce scored 1. The man of the match award went to Elis, for her cracking work as centre forward.
The ladies 4s had a long trip to play Southend 2s and despite a good performance lost 3-0. The ladies 5s played Brentwood Academy and in a close fought contest were pipped 2-1.

Youth matches

On Sunday it was the turn of the juniors in their leagues. The u18 girls played out a 1-1 draw with Hampstead & Westminster. The u18 boys were away at Surbiton in the Tier 1 London league and won 3-1 with goals from Caspian Coupe, Nathan Gladman and Jack Moffat. Nathan Gladman and Archie Crowley have been included in the newly announced u18 England squad for the upcoming European championships. The u16 boys were due to play Crostyx in the Tier 1 league but the match had to be abandoned because of the weather but did play Saffron Walden away in the Tier 2 league where they won 2-1. The u14 boys played away at Bedford and won 18-0 in their rather too uneven Tier 1 fixture.