Upminster III 1 Clacton 5

Division Four South East

Upminster III 1 Clacton 5

CLACTON continued their winning streak with a solid display on a horrible day for slick hockey. The Seasider's rode their lucky at times but in the end their clinical finishes were the difference. Rik Coleman got Clacton going when he smashed in the Seasider's first short corner of the game after ten minutes.

Both teams struggled in the driving rain as the defensive players came out on top with James Mead and Denzil Donovan in tenacious moods supplemented by Sam Hodge, Carl Parkes, Russell Measor and Paul Thorpe going forwards. At the back Steve Key saw little action as Adam Smith, Casper Khan, John Hambrook, and Colin Hook closed down the home sides attacks. Clacton doubled their lead when Hodge found Coleman who struck the ball goal wards where Thorpe was in the right place to touch the ball home.

The second half saw the weather start to ease off and the home side determined to get themselves back in the game. They got one goal back with a sweetly struck short corner that Key got a big stick to, only to see the ball dribbled over the line.

Clacton then stepped up a gear and stroked the ball around creating spaces for the forwards and Hambrook joining in down the right. Hambrook ghosted into the circle and received the ball from Parkes but the opponents smothered the ball away with Hodge and Measor hunting the loose ball. Thorpe smashed one against the cross bar from the top of the circle with the home keeper well beaten. When Hambrook again was offered space in the attacking third he laid in Parkes with just the keeper to beat with a neat pass into the corner for his first of the season and 3-1.

Clacton sensed the home side tiring and when Hodge added a fourth the result was confirmed. The Seasider's put the cherry on top of the cake with a quickly taken free hit from Captain Parkes to man-of-the-match Donovan, who fed Hodge for another mazy penetrative run, before his reverse stick cross picked out Smith pressing on from sweeper to slot home for his fourth of the season and a goal that summed Clacton's creative flowing hockey this season and this game that saw all the goals coming from different scorers.

Clacton now enjoy two home games on the trot, first up Waltham Forest (Clacton Leisure centre 2pm) dreaming of a perfect first half of the season.