Helen Anton got St Albans Hockey Club’s Boadiceas’ 2015 off to a flying start as she scored the winner against Leighton Buzzard.

The 1-0 win was just one highlight of a remarkable weekend for the club’s ladies section. The first team came through their divisional indoor competition at Haslemere with flying colours, defeating Chelmsford, Trojans and Old Loughts in qualifying for the National Division Two indoor finals at Nottingham at the end of January.

At Clarence Park, Liz Cleverly scored twice and Annie Barrett once as the 3rds beat Basildon 1sts 3-0, while the 5ths came away from Bishop’s Stortford 4ths with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from Gemma Little, Nikki Davies and Leila Bakhti.

The men’s indoor competition at Eastleigh proved a bridge too far for the 1sts, despite a win over Trojans.

At Oaklands, Peter Hazell coached the 2nds to an impressive 3-1 win against Surbiton 3rds and Alastair Turner scored on his debut for the 8ths in their 2-0 defeat of Hertford 5ths.

This weekend sees a full programme of outdoor league games, with the men’s 1sts team headlining at Oaklands at 3pm against Cambridge City.