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Photos: Zoe Bennell
Derwent prevailed 5-3 over their fierce rivals Langwith in an enthralling contest on Sunday morning, as a brace from Jack Bradshaw helped his side to claim a hard-earned victory. In sunny conditions, both sides played crisp passing hockey in a competitive contest, but it was Derwent who held a slender 2-1 lead at the interval after a penalty goal and a Bradshaw strike cancelled out Langwith’s opener. Derwent extended their lead soon after the break as Dom Bolt slotted home, but Langwith refused to succumb to defeat and showed great resilience as led by Barnaby Steel and Simon Downes they clawed back the two goal deficit to bring the scores level with less than 10 minutes to go. Langwith’s efforts were to be in vain though, as Derwent retook the lead with five minutes left as Hattie Whillans rounded off a flowing counter-attack.
A fifth soon followed to seal the victory as Bradshaw capped off an excellent performance to ensure that Derwent moved up to second in the table. Halifax also claimed their second victory of term, as they breezed past bottom-placed Alcuin with a crushing 8-0 victory. Alex Francis bagged four goals to lead Isaac Barker’s side to victory over their struggling opponents, who slid to yet another defeat. Alcuin never threatened, as Halifax dominated from start to finish, with Helena Page, Graeme Osborn and Jamie Emmerson adding their names to the scoresheet. The final game saw Vanbrugh fail to field a full side against Goodricke, meaning they were handed the spoils even though they were defeated in the following friendly. James remain top despite enjoying a week off, as three wins out of three means that they sit two points clear of Derwent.