Southgate 2 Chelmsford 2

Slazenger England Hockey League Division One

Southgate 2 Chelmsford 2

Chelmsford suffered their second sucker punch in two games when Alastair Cotton netted a second half equaliser for Southgate.

Chelmsford felt that they had created enough chances to win the game, but lacked the killer instinct. However, given the start they made to the game, Chelmsford would certainly have taken a draw. In fact it wasn't until the 16th minute that Chelmsford woke up and by this time they were one goal down thanks to a Joel Evans backhand strike. As Manager Peter Woodward said: “I don't really think we were in the game in the first quarter. We weren't awake at all and we were pretty lazy.”

However, Chelmsford did come to life in the 16th minute when Luke Mepham was pushed in the 'D'. He put away the resulting penalty stroke despite South African international goalkeeper Chris Hibbert getting a glove onto the ball.

Only seven minutes later and Chelmsford were in the lead when a neat layback by Adam Hunter allowed player/coach Duncan Woods to slot the ball between Hibbert's legs.

Chelmsford then had sufficient chances to put the game beyond doubt and could arguably have had a further stroke when Hunter was fouled. Olly Cooper then hit the post in the second half. Despite numerous corners, which Southgate defended well, Chelmsford could not find a killer instinct to put the game beyond their north London rivals.

And so it was that Alastair Cotton found himself with time at the top of the 'D' to slot the ball past Adrian Kimber for an equaliser.

Chelmsford could then have gone back into the lead when Alex Collins was adjudged to have kicked the ball prior to putting it into the goal, despite Chelmsford's protestations to the contrary. Neither team created any clear-cut chances in the final few minutes and so the game ended all square.

However, Chelmsford can reflect on a relatively successful first half of the season, having picked up 16 points, and on the same points as third placed Bath. However, they will look for far greater consistency in the second half of the season, having dropped points off the top two sides as well as the eighth and ninth placed sides in the league.

Next week Chelmsford return to cup action as they take on Premier League side Canterbury. The match starts at 2.15pm at Polo Farm, Canterbury.