Long Sutton hockey teams gear up for new season with friendlies against Spalding

Long Sutton Hockey Club players are stepping up their preparations for the East Region Hockey League season due to start on September 26.

Both ladies’ 1st and 2nd teams are in action on Saturday when they face Spalding in friendlies at Glen Park, Surfleet, and Peele Leisure Centre respectively.

In total, five teams have been in pre-season action this month, with the ladies’ 1sts winning 2-1 at Pelicans, of King’s Lynn, on Saturday.

Club spokesman Alex Canham said: “We’ve completed nine friendlies to date, including five last weekend when the ladies 1sts won 2-1 and the ladies 2nds earned a great 1-1 draw, both at Pelicans.

“The men’s 1sts lost 2-1, but the men’s 2nds won 3-0 and men’s 3rds drew 3-3, with all three matches played at home against Bourne Deeping.

"Whilst it is a different world to the one we signed off in during March, it is still sport and still hockey, something we are all grateful for.

"With COVID-secure policies for training, playing, travelling and spectating, the amount of work our COVID officer has put in has been immense, just so that we can enjoy our weekly fix of hockey.

"For some, the social distancing Rules have been difficult to adhere to, whereas for others we have always been more than two metres away from someone when we are supposed to be marking them."