NE14Hockey East Men's LeagueDivision OneSt Neots 1 Magpies II 8MAGPIES II travelled to bottom placed St Neots and came away with an emphatic 8-1 victory.

NE14Hockey East Men's League

Division One

St Neots 1 Magpies II 8

MAGPIES II travelled to bottom placed St Neots and came away with an emphatic 8-1 victory. Whilst the score line looks impressive Magpies will need to improve their game before next weeks important re-arranged match with Vauxhall.

The early exchanges were quite equal with Martin Fields going close on a couple of occasions whilst at the other end Livings was brought into early action saving well from close range. Magpies took the lead after 10 minutes when a cross field pass from Phil Cobbald found fellow full back Fred Merritt in acres of space and he strode into the circle and placed an excellent shot across the keeper. Within a minute Magpies had increased their lead when Fields picked out an almost horizontal Sam Moore who guided the ball in from less than a metre out. Harrison then proceeded to score a trade mark short corner and there was only ever going to be one result. Further first half goals from Harrison and a brace from Fields meant Magpies lead 6-0 at half time.

If Magpies thought the second half was going to be easy they were mistaken. St Neots played a more robust half and Magpies played into their hands by keeping hold of the ball to long and playing the game at a sufficiently quick tempo. The longer the game went on the more possession the home side had and Livings was kept surprisingly busy. Ironically it was from one of the home side attacks that Magpies extended their lead further when they broke at pace from their own circle and a combination of Steven and Kinsella resulted in a superb goal.

Two minutes from the end St Neots scored their goal when a short corner was not cleared by a defender. Magpies replied straight from the restart passing the ball through the home defence to allow Steven to finish the move in style.

Man of the match was Fred Merritt for a display of solid defensive work as well as always providing an outlet for attacking moves down the left flank.

Next week Magpies are at home to Vauxhall in a re-arranged match which should prove to be a test of their 100 per cent home record in a game they need to win to extend the gap between them and the chasing teams.