Foster hat-trick as Barton winning run stretches to four
BARTON started 2022 by sweeping to their fourth successive Midlands Premier Division win to climb to within a point of second-placed Loughborough Students.
A first-half hat-trick from Jacob Foster pointed them towards a 5-0 win away to Hampton in Arden on a day when they welcomed back Ash Parr and Craig Tilke from injury.
The game started at a high tempo and the Hampton keeper had already been forced into several saves before Foster got his first goal, with a low drag flick from a penalty corner.
Parr soon earned another penalty corner and Foster again converted, this time into the opposite corner.
Boosted by the start, Barton were playing free-flowing hockey, moving the ball from side to side, with Harrison Kemp and Ben Everett-li finding lots of room to press.
Shortly before half-time, Barton won another short corner and with the goalkeeper anticipating another low drag flick, Foster fired his hattrick effort into the top right-hand corner.
The pattern continued after the break, with the home goalkeeper performing heroics to keep the score down until he was beaten at the back post by Jasper Williams, notching his first goal for the first team.
The goal of the game came 10 minutes from time as Barton worked the ball out from the back, through Mark Latham on the left wing, to Jacob Buxton in the centre.
His sweeping pass out to the right was into the path of Jamie Jenkins, who found Tilke with a perfectlytimed pass and he pulled the ball back for Parr to apply the finish.
Barton are away again on Saturday to another mid-table side, West Bridgford (1.30pm).
■ Barton Ladies had a good 4-3 win against Belper.
Debbie Dain’s superb hat-trick included the winning goal with only two minutes left.
BURTON Ladies travelled to play Cannock seconds in a rearranged game and, for many of the squad, it was their first hockey since middecember, having also had their midweek training session frozen off.
There was sone rusty play in the first half but they took the lead through Shannon Dillon after good baseline work from Elizabeth Snelling.
Although the second half was scrappy, Barton remained on top and Dillon returned the compliment, doing the hard work to set Snelling up for the second goal.
Harriet Kent made it 3-0 after a short corner routine broke down but was recovered well by
Felicity Norcross.
The Burton Rhinos mixed team edged a 1-0 win at home to Stone Eagles
The Rhinos dominated possession early in the game without passing quickly enough to create any danger but when they got it right, Lexie Elliot converted a cross to put them ahead.
Stone came into the game more and looked the likelier side to score in the second half.
They had their best chance to do so in the dying seconds when they broke through Burton’s defence but keeper Ryan Flaherty pulled off a great save to ensure victory.