St Albans Hockey Club finished their indoor season in fine style in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
The men’s first team travelled back to Nottingham for the final weekend of the Super Sixes Division One, and with just three points from the previous weekend, they knew they needed to produce the goods if they were to avoid relegation.
Losses against the top two, Brooklands (10-3) and Holcombe (11-0), were expected but a perfectly executed game plan first thing on Sunday gave them a 5-2 win over bottom team Cannock.
It meant they needed just a draw in the final game of the tournament to avoid the drop.
That looked unlikely at half-time as they found themselves 3-0 down to rivals West Herts.
But the Tangerines turned it around in the second half, putting in the hard graft required to grind the opposition down.
Suddenly it all clicked; tight defending, fluid counter attacking and clinical finishing put them back on terms and two goals in a minute turned the game on its head.
It all led to a 8-3 win for Saints, leaving them safely out of the drop zone.
The ladies finished a very creditable fourth in EHL Division One. Draws with Ipswich, Harleston Magpies, and then Chelmsford were followed by a good 7-3 win against Brooklands.
Meg Crowson regularly found the net, ending the tournament as top scorer with 20 goals, whilst Sarah Lavers in goal showed great spirit and maturity aiding her fellow defenders and making the team hard to beat.
The intensity of the league, eight games played over two weekends, should help with the squad’s skill and physical conditioning ahead of a return to the outdoor game on Saturday.
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