2024/25 Season - Week 21

A long trip to Leeds held no fears for Blueharts Men’s Over-45s who upset National League club Ben Rhydding 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Tier 1 National Championships on Sunday.

Two goals from Ben Hammond and one from Gihan Lekamwattage saw the side through to the last four after a brilliant performance.

Blueharts Men’s 1s made it three successive wins after beating Dereham 2-0 at Lucas Lane on Saturday.

Chris Gadsden gave the 1s the lead following a short corner just before half-time with Nick Ross adding a second from close range in the second period.

The 1s stay fourth in the East Premier Division ahead of their trip to struggling Upminster this Saturday.

The Ladies 1s’ game at Bedford went very much to the form book as the sides – separated only on goal difference in the East Division One South table – drew 1-1.

The Blues had to withstand early Bedford pressure but once they did, Natalie Gibbs opened the scoring for the 1s.

Bedford levelled with a scrappy penalty corner and threatened to score a winner but heroic defending kept them at bay, with Grace Thomson outstanding in goal.

There was also a stalemate between the Ladies 2s and their Bedford opponents – neither side scoring but with Sophia Gallagher and Emily Frenay enjoying fine games for the Blues.

The Men’s 2s were beaten 4-0 by Old Loughtonians, while the Ladies 3s were also beaten albeit against top-of-the-table Bedford.

To the 3s’ credit they were holding Bedford 1-1 until the last few minutes with Fiona Hutchins scoring their goal.

However the league leaders then converted a short corner and then added a fortuitous third to seal the points.

Goalkeeper Sam Coughlan-Flood’s efforts saw her take the player-of-the-match plaudits, while her defence, including Lydia Buckland, Nicky Turnbull and Scarlett Lait were also outstanding.

Debutant Ella Lock also enjoyed a fine start for the 3s in an excellent all-round team performance.

There were five goals and five different scores for the Men’s 3s against Rickmansworth with Ben and Ashley Hammond, Sean Storey, Harry Storey and Barry Hann all on target in the 5-2 win.

It was a good day too – but only just – for the Men’s 4s who led 5-1 at Potters Bar before being pegged back to 5-4 but eventually getting over the line.

Two goals from Niamh Krishman earned the Ladies 4s a 2-2 draw with St Albans but the Ladies 5s were beaten 2-0 at Harpenden.

Cam Hone was another Bluehart with a double on Saturday, scoring twice in the Men’s 5s’ 6-1 win over Shefford and Sandy.

Adam Wells, Phil Britton, Hayden Haywood and Henry Ryden were also on the scoresheet.

The Men’s 6s are now one win away from securing second spot in East Division 5 South West after they thrashed St Albans 6-0 on Saturday.

Two early goals from Paul Krishman and one from John Russell put the 6s 3-0 up at half-time and from there the match was effectively over.

Krishman completed another hat-trick in the second half with Gavin Bidgood and a short corner from Dave Moore rounding off the scoring as Alec Gadsden took the man-of-the-match honours.

The Ladies 6s drew 2-2 against Harpenden, while the 7s went down 2-1 to Royston.

The Men’s 7s meanwhile extended their unbeaten run to six matches after a comfortable 3-0 win over West Herts.

The opening 20 minutes featured some of the best hockey the side have produced all season and the result now means the side are guaranteed a top four finish.

Simon Little scored two with Harry Palmer grabbing the other goal and Stuart Gadsden turning in a man-of-the-match performance just as his son Alec had done for the 6s.