Away day Blues bounce back

BANGOR City Men’s hockey team’s away hoodoo continued with a 7-1 drubbing at Oxton 4ths last Saturday.

In a one-sided first half, the Wirral outfit put the ball past keeper Keith Proudlove five times, with Dave Paterson’s emphatic finish providing the only bright spark in an otherwise disastrous 35 minutes.

Bangor did create more openings than the scoreline suggested, with Matt Rogers and Ash Hardaker forcing saves from the excellent home keeper, but City were facing an uphill battle in the second half.

Despite Bangor playing with a higher intensity, it was only Oxton who added to the scoresheet in the second half, as they fired in a further two goals to seal the win.

On Sunday, City took part in a Welsh Challenge Cup round robin versus two fellow North Wales clubs in Colwyn Bay and Llandudno, with the winning side claiming a place in the national semi-finals.

Despite being a man short throughout, the young City side bounced back with two tremendous performances.

Having finished 1-1 against Llandudno in the first match, City went on to win on penalty flicks.

In the second match, they raced into a 2-0 lead against Bangor University 2nds, before being pegged back to 2-2 in the dying moments. The match was taken into penalty flicks and it was the university side who prevailed.

With everything riding on the final match between Llandudno and Bangor University 2nds, a 4-2 victory for the Seasiders saw them win and earn a place in the semis.

This weekend sees City host NWHL Division 5 title contenders Chester at the Brailsford Centre 3G, push-back 2.15pm.