Bourne and Deeping Hockey Club round-up

Bourne Deeping made a winning start to their East League Division 2NW campaign after a 5-3 victory over Cambridge Nomads on Saturday.

The visitors were relegated from Division 1N last season and provided tough opening day opposition.

The Dragons started strongly and were rewarded early when Chris Clarkson, returning to the Bourne Deeping set-up, scored with a clever reverse stick finish past the Cambridge Nomads goalkeeper.

Bourne doubled their lead just before the break with Edward Mosiey tapping in a sharp rebound after Richard Collins' penalty corner attempt was blocked on the line.

After an extended half-time due to thunderous conditions, Bourne came out stronger in the second half.

They extended their lead with another penalty corner conversion, followed by Chris Burden scoring from open play.

This sparked a quick response from the Nomads who pulled a goal back, but Bourne soon put the game out of reach with another finish from Burden.

With the score at 5-1 and just three minutes to go, some lapse defending from Bourne allowed Nomads to score two late goals

Bourne now shifts their focus to their first away game of the season against St Ives on Saturday where they will look to overcome the disappointment of last season's defeat.

Bourne Deeping 2nds also shared the spoils with a relegated side on Saturday as they drew 5-5 at Cambridge City 6ths in Division 4NW.

The sides went into the half-time break on level terms at 2-2 before Cambridge converted two short corners to open up an advantage.

Bourne reduced the arrears to one goal before Will Portlock equalised with a decent effort to make it 4-4.

A tremendous volley gave Bourne Deeping the lead for the first time before Cambridge equalised from the final play of the game.

With Bourne Deeping 3rds being handed a walkover 5-0 win against Pelicans 4ths, they faced their own fourth team in a friendly.

The midfield three of Cox, Byrne and Stainsby largely controlled the attacking threat of the third team opposed by Barden and Dacre for the fourths.

Middlemiss and Baker tested the fourth team defenders of Thomas Duff and Stuart Hodge, who stepped up their performances to match.

Naturally the pressure was all on the fourth team defence with chances and penalty corners racking up.

Dylan Criddle, in goal for the fourths, came to their rescue on numerous occasions but was unable to repel everything, conceding two in each half.

The thirds will need to sharpen up the finishing in their season's quest while the fourths were a resilient unit who stuck to their task fully until the end.

A men's fifth development team is a new venture for this season with a real mix of developing players supported by experience from all levels of the club.

They started their Division 6NW season with a narrow 2-1 home loss to Cambridge South 6ths in what was a challenging but enjoyable fixture.

James Risebrow was given lots of chances to develop his goalkeeping skills as Henry Stainsby and Luke McKenna, guided by Phipps and Bates, were determined in their defence as they battled to keep the scores even at the break.

Foster balanced the threat in midfield so that James Watkins and Alex on his league debut could link with the composed and skillful Ben Staff.

Stephen Joyner and son Luke, with pace to burn, was a constant threat while late on Alfie Tarran and Charlie Lumb grew into their attacking roles and were able to take more chances to advance.

The match was played in a positive spirit intended by the league so hopefully will set the tone for future weeks

Watkins senior was able to halve the deficit with 10 minutes remaining and the home side battled to the end but couldn't find an equaliser.

Bourne Deeping Ladies overcame a tough opening day test against Long Sutton to record a 2-1 win in their Division 3NW clash.

The Dragons had come so close to promotion last season while Long Sutton had been relegated from the league above.

Bourne Deeping went on the attack from the start and put the Long Sutton defence under plenty of pressure but time and time again their attempts to score were thwarted by some incredible goalkeeping.

The Dragons did not have all the play, however, and Long Sutton soon showed the strength and power they had up front.

The Bourne Deeping defensive line, most notably player of the match Nadine Curtis, managed to block some strong individual breakthroughs and deny Long Sutton any goal scoring opportunities.

A special mention must also go to Elaine Risebrow who valiantly stepped in to keep goal in the absence of the regular keeper.

The Dragons maintained their pressure and eventually a long corner just before the half time whistle led to a great strike by new signing Katie Mulhern who scored on her debut by putting the home team ahead going into the break.

The second half was a replica of the first with the Dragons mostly in control and Long Sutton breaking through on individual plays.

The Dragons' immense efforts were finally rewarded with a second goal from Becky Waters but the two goal lead was halved just before the final whistle when one of the Long Sutton breaks was finally rewarded.

The whole Bourne Deeping team put on a great first performance and now look forward to carrying on the winning streak in weeks to come.

Bourne Deeping Ladies 2nds followed up a friendly win over Spalding 3rds with a 2-0 success over the Maroons in their Division 4NW opener.

A hard battle ensued in the goalless first half with end to end action and short corners from both teams.

A tactical set piece from Millie Durrands and Sophie Brittain and a finish from Georgie Gray secured the first goal of the season for Bourne Deeping after the break.

Brittain drag flick then gave Dragons a clear win and a 2-0 scoreline which shows they clearly mean business this season.