NE14HOCKEY East LeagueDivision 4SEClacton I 6 Colchester II 1 CLACTON, having been relegated last season, started life in NE14 Hockey Division 4SE league with an awesome performance and a clinical win, with man-of-the-match Ric Coleman scoring all six goals.

NE14HOCKEY East League

Division 4SE

Clacton I 6 Colchester II 1

CLACTON, having been relegated last season, started life in NE14 Hockey Division 4SE league with an awesome performance and a clinical win, with man-of-the-match Ric Coleman scoring all six goals.

It was a fantastic team performance with the whole squad playing their part and with Sam Hodge in inspired form setting up four of the goals and with Densil Donovan creating more fear down the left, the midfield of Jamie Roberts, Rob Lukey, and Carl Parkes made the most of the space to dominate their opponents.

In defence Nick Key, Colin Hook, Gavin Underhay, Alex Mortimer, and John Hambrooke were full of chatter organising the players in front of them to create the home dominance, with Mike Key a virtual spectator in the Clacton goal.

The Seasiders started crisply moving the ball around and pressing their local rivals into mistakes. In the third minute Clacton broke through the middle via Lukey, who found Hodge with energy and space to attack the wing. Hodge rounded the defence before committing the keeper and laying Coleman in for an open goal and a dream start 1-0.

In the 14th minute Clacton doubled their lead with Hodge again doing the creating before setting up Coleman for another tap-in. Colchester had their opportunities in the first half with a number of short corners, but the defensive line held tight and didn't give them any time and space to capitalise on the chances.

The second half saw the visitors camped in their own half and on a hot day Clacton made the most of their possession stroking the ball around to wear out the remaining resistance.

Clacton made it 4-0 with two strikes in five minutes from Coleman, the fourth a 50 yard pass from Nick Key that Lukey stepped over to leave Coleman to turn the last defender before rounding the keeper and slotting home.

Colchester then got on the score sheet as they worked a nice consolation, before Clacton finished off the days scoring with two in two minutes. The fifth came from a Hambrooke cross that Coleman chipped up and smashed into the corner, and the sixth when Parkes latched onto a loose ball firing it at Hodge who deflected the ball onto the post before inevitably the ball found Coleman to neatly tap-in his sixth and a first double hat-trick for a Clacton player in fifteen years.

Next week Clacton travel to newly promoted Crostyx where the Seasiders will want to prove this wasn't a one-off and can make progress to securing their division 3 status at the first time of asking.