Chelmsford 0 Southgate 2

Slazenger Men's English Hockey League Division One

Chelmsford 0 Southgate 2

Chelmsford were killed off by two goals in the space of five minutes just after half time.

The result moves Southgate to within five points of Chelmsford and, with Chelmsford in fourth and Southgate eighth, the middle of the league is now extremely tight.

The first half was a tight affair. Southgate arguably had the more chances, but Chelmsford were the ones who created the clearest cut opportunity. Following good work down the right channel by Luke Mepham and Ollie Cooper, Adam Hunter found himself with a one-on-one with the Southgate's South African international keeper Chris Hibbert. However, with the goal seemingly at his mercy, Hunter was denied as a Southgate defender plucked the ball from nowhere.

Chelmsford came into the second half in buoyant mood, however, two Dan Shingles goals within the first five minutes gave Southgate the lead. On both occasions, Dean Armstrong, in for Adrian Kimber in the Chelmsford goal, was left stranded and with no chance on either occasion.

Chelmsford then spent most of the next half hour playing without fear and started to come back into the game. However, with Southgate defiant in defence, the chances were few and far between. Chelmsford were looking dangerous when they won penalty corners, but in the end these came to nothing. Josh Mepham also found himself with a couple of tight chances, but Hibbert was in excellent form in the Southgate goal.

Chelmsford face a tough test in Manchester next weekend as they take on league leaders Bowdon. The previous encounter between these sides was a classic 5-4 game with Chelmsford on the wrong side of a last minute winner.