Leadenham Hockey Club build towards new season after summer league win

After a busy summer campaign, which culminated in Leadenham winning the Hurricane Sports Mixed Trophy, it was time to turn attention to the upcoming league season.

The first pre-season friendly saw Leadenham Thirds take on Newark Thirds in a fast-flowing game.

Leadenham were more clinical with their chances, with newly-appointed skipper Gaz Kirton finding the back of the net twice, but Newark held out to take a 3-2 win.

The two club’s second teams then played each other in a very tactical game where each side spent long periods of time in possession.

Defence was strong for both teams and it took until a short corner before the deadlock was broken.

Neil Ireland swept home the final pass of a clever corner routine which was enough to see the game finish 1-0 to Leadenham.

In the first team game, Leadenham were caught off-guard by the early intensity Newark applied, and conceded three goal within the first 10 minutes.

A hasty formation change, to sit two defensive midfielders in front of the defence, helped shore up the back line, and from there Leadenham looked to launch counter-attacks.

The home side went close, but they still trailed by three goals when half-time came.

As legs began to tire, Leadenham’s defensive unit started to fray and Newark picked up two more goals from short corners.

The club would like to thank Simon Higgs, Robert Metheringham, Ben Lane, Tom Pinchbeck and Sam MacAllister for umpiring throughout the day, and sponsors Mountains Skip Hire.

* If you would like to play hockey, Leadenham cater for a wide range of abilities and pride themselves on providing a friendly environment to play for both juniors and seniors.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit their Facebook page at leadenhamhockeyclub