Old Loughts men’s 1s were away at Southgate for a local derby dubbed as Southgate Super Saturday with Southgate seeking to break the attendance record for an England Hockey league match. Both teams started slowly but Southgate had the better early chances and after 10 minutes scored from a penalty flick converted by Kwan Browne after the ball hit a Loughts foot on the line. Southgate doubled the lead approaching half time from a penalty corner taken by Teague Marcano which clipped off Jack Tranter’s pads and into the net. Loughts tried to find rhythm but struggled in the face Southgate’s robust tactics.

Loughts came out in the third quarter determined to play their own fast, free flowing game and started to dominate play. In 7 electric minutes they scored three goals to silence the singing in the home stands. First Euan Gilmour left three Southgate players in his wake to score his first and then doubled Loughts lead with a reverse stick chip into the corner. Andy McGregor then dived in to score Loughts third. The last quarter was played at a very high tempo with both teams striving to win. Max Sydenham settled Loughts nerves with Loughts fourth half way through the quarter but with five minutes to play Loughts were reduced to 9 men and Southgate increased their onfield numerical advantage by substituting their keeper for an 11th onfield player. As Southgate pressed Harvey Edwards ran onto a long aerial pass from Ed Fleet and tapped in to seal a fine 5-2 win and narrow the gap at the top of the table. Next week Loughts are at home to Bristol University whilst Southgate travel to Bath Buccaneers.

The M2s started slowly against Letchworth 1s but finished with a good 5-1 win. Toby Gayler scored the first two and completed his hat trick with a penalty flick for the 5th goal after goals from Ollie Davies and Archie Crowley. The M3s were away at Colchester 1s and in an 8 goal thriller narrowly lost 3-5. The M4s also had a difficult day losing 0-2 against Havering 2s. The M5s Willows also faced first team opposition and lost 1-4 to league leaders Tower Hamlets after Mark Donnelly scored for Loughts. The M6s Willows Woodsmen lost 1-2 against Southend 2s but the M7s Willows Rangers won 5-3 against Brentwood 5s.

LOUGHTS LIGHTNING START SECURES SUFFOLK VICTORY
Bury St Edmunds W1s 0 – 3 Old Loughtonians W1s
Old Loughtonians W1s kept themselves in the hunt for promotion to the National League with their seventh straight win a comfortable 3-0 win away at Bury St Edmunds W1s on Saturday afternoon. Two goals in the first 10 minutes gave Loughts an electric start as first Em Davies bundled the ball home after a fine run from Tash Patient. Three minutes later Adele Sammons sauntered into the D and drilled home in style for the second. With ten minutes in the first half remaining it was Tash Patient’s turn to get herself on the scoresheet with a beautiful reverse strike that made it 3-0 at the break.
Loughts controlled the tempo in the second half and but for a fine performance from the Bury keeper would have made it more. Faye Holmes’ intelligent deflection and Chloe Menear’s disallowed penalty corner strike were the closest Loughts came to increasing the scoreline.
The W2s faced Crostyx 1s in their local derby. Loughts were 3-0 down at half time but finished well and the score finished with 1-3 after a goal from Cerys Edwards. The W3s had an excellent 8-2 win against South Benfleet 2s with Jess Donnelly scoring 4 but the W5s lost 0-2 against Romford 2s.

LOUGHTS PASS TOUGH CAMBRIDGE EXAMINATION WITH FIRST CLASS HONOURS
Old Loughtonians W1s 2 – 0 Cambridge University W1s

In front of a partisan home crowd on Sunday afternoon at Luxborough Lane, Old Loughtonians Women’s 1s faced a stern examination by promotion rivals Cambridge University W1s which they passed with flying colours.
Loughts were ahead within 4 minutes from their first penalty corner of the game. A slick routine with Adele Sammons returning the injection to Tash Patient who found the bottom corner from an acute angle. The students had a lot of possession but Loughts defensive shape was superb from the front and made Cambridge constantly recycle the ball without penetrating the Loughts D. Ten minutes into the second half Loughts made it 2-0 as another well worked penalty corner exchange between Emily Holmes and Emily Davies saw Holmes finish calmly under the advancing Cambridge keeper.
Davies, Patient and Sammons were all outstanding in controlling the midfield advances of Cambridge and the back line of Stevie Southall, Beth Macgregor, Chloe Menear and Chloe Joarder were resolute in their defence of the D. Cambridge made a last ditch attempt to penetrate the Loughts goal by sacrificing their keeper with only two minutes remaining. However this was to no avail as Old Loughts closed out the game with great professionalism.
Loughts now have a six point lead at the top of the table as they move into the final weeks of the season. Next week sees Loughts entertain Harleston Magpies W2s at home.