Havering men bounce back, thirds take women’s derby spoils

Alex Lee and Adam Willett returned, but they were without Alastair Lewis, Luke Joslin and Paul Dover.

In an uneventful first half, Havering had the best opportunity as Lee released Toshan Patel from halfway and received a return pass, but was denied by a defender’s block and then missed from a tight angle.

Harry Andrews saw a penalty corner well saved before the visitors struck from a corner of their own.

Havering were awarded another corner just before the break, with Andrews effort blocked and Liam Appleyard playing the ball back across goal and into the net, but the ball was adjudged to have hit Patel’s foot.

The hosts levelled in the second half as Adam Lumbers’ through ball found Andrews at the top of the D and he played in Appleyard on the right for the captain to beat the last defender and fire in at the near post.

Both sides had chances to take the lead, with Andy Gaut making a triple save at close range before Oliver Hinton played Appleyard through and he swapped passes with Lee to score with a diving reverse stick deflection.

Havering head to Colchester this weekend.

The injury-hit 2s fell to a 4-1 defeat against Redbridge & Ilford, after Sam Green had fired them in front.

Bill Birbeck, Green and Taylor Ahmad, who made a fine double save, impressed for Havering who will look to bounce back against bottom club Braintree.

The 4s included three debutants as they ran out 3-1 winners over Old Southendian 6s to return to the top of the table.

Luke Clarke netted with a strong shot early on and doubled the tally with another good finish.

Toby John and Alex Bilby combined well and man of the match Terry Turner fired home a short corner to make it 3-0, as Paul Mitchley and Tom Mann held firm in midfield, but new goalkeeper Alex Baccaro was beaten late on.

Special mention goes to Andrew Heath, who had never played a game of hockey before but caught the eye on the left of defence.

Havering’s women went down 4-1 at St Albans 2s.

Tess Meehan, Bethan Isherwood, Katie Griggs, Lauren Earle, Tilly Bunn and Emily Martin worked hard in midfield, as defenders Bukki Olodo, Alex Semon, Steph Prowse and Laura Burke kept St Albans out early on.

Isherwood saw a reverse strike saves at a corner, before Lucy Bree denied the hosts with a crucial stop.

St Albans built pressure, though, and converted a corner, adding two more goals before half-time.

And a penalty stroke was converted in the second half, before Martin produced a strong run and cross for Izzy Purdie to hit back with a deflected shot.

Havering saw another corner saved, while Sue Harwood was unlucky not to connect with Martin’s excellent through ball as the scoreline remained unchanged.

The 2s found table-topping Bishop’s Stortford too strong in a 6-0 home loss.

The visitors netted two impressive goals, before Cidney Payton and Jessie Watson went close to replying.

But Havering conceded again before the interval and saw their rivals strike a quick double blow after the restart.

Stephanie Dickinson produced some great runs on the Havering left, as Rae Ahmed and Tegan Bunn forced a string of short corners.

Tasha Mangion and Megan Isherwood worked hard in defence to deny Stortford attacks, with Katie Coyne making some fine saves before finally being beaten again late on.

Havering 3s earned bragging rights over the 4s with a 7-1 win in their club derby.

Both teams lost players at the last minute due to illness, with the 4s down to 10 for the entire game.

But Abigail Dickinson cancelled out Emma Isherwood’s effort for the 3s as the first half finished all square.

Claire Brennan, Nicki Cast, Alice Martin (2), Isherwood and Katie Mann all netted for the 3s after the restart, though, as Alice John took the player of the match award for the 4s.