Dominant performance in victory by Carillon

MARKET HARBOROUGH 3S 0

CARILLON 1S 16

IN THE first game of a crucial double header, Carillon travelled to Market Harborough on Thursday night for a rearranged fixture.

Carillon sent out a more familiar and settled side than in the previous game and it showed with a dominant performance.

In truth, this was always going to be a difficult night for Harborough having been beaten comprehensively in the reverse fixture and coming off the back of a double digit defeat on the weekend. But their team showed determination throughout the match and gave as good as they got for large parts of the game.

This drove Carillon on to play a very good standard of hockey, stretching the home teams back division with regularity. It was 8-0 at half time with the pick of the goals coming from Steve Livingstone who sent a rocket of a shot into the far top corner from just inside the D leaving the goalkeeper clutching at thin air.

Determined not to let the second half become flat, Carillon attacked from the outset and Ruaidhri Maguire tapped in with less than a minute gone. Goals continued to come despite some heroics from the Harborough keeper, notably tipping a goal bound deflection over the bar with his stick. With Carillon well in control, Johnny Hie was withdrawn from the net allowing Carillon to play with 11 outfielders and it was Hie who rounded off the scoring, getting on the end of a Robbie Moulding cut back and firing home from five yards out to bring the final score to 16-0.

Man of the match went to Maguire for his four goal haul. On to the weekend then, where a win will confirm title celebrations for Carillon. CARILLON 1S 17

RUGBY EAST WARWICKSHIRE 7S 0 CARILLON secured the league title in their first season as a men’s side with an emphatic 17-0 victory against visitors Rugby on Saturday.

Playing their second game in three days the team should no signs of fatigue and set about Rugby with a vengeance.

The game was mere minutes old when Steve Livingstone picked the ball up in the D with his back to goal and drove it into the far corner leaving the visiting keeper with no chance. Before Rugby could collect themselves they were again on the back foot and could not find a way to relieve the pressure. One rapidly became five as James Young got in on the act and Livingstone completed a quick fire hat trick.

Further goals came from the prolific Steve Hunter who grabbed a couple to maintain his lead at the top of the goal scoring charts with 26. The half time score of 9-0 was reached with more goals from Hayden Arrowsmith and Tom Lawrie.

With the win secured, Carillon relaxed in the second half and tried out some unusual positional changes. Rugby did take some advantage of these switches with a couple of fast breaks but they were dealt with comfortably. Carillon managed to find a further eight goals in the second half, Livingstone grabbing his fourth, Young completing his hat-trick, and Arrowsmith getting his brace. The hard working Alex Carter also got his name on the score sheet, before Matt Middleton scored for the first time after his long lay off.

The two final goals were arguably the most satisfying with Jack Sargeant and youngster Sam Beavon, who have remained disciplined in defence for the whole season, given licence to venture further forward. This resulted in loud cheers from teammates and spectators as both of them collected their first goals for the club. Beavon capped a great personal day by claiming man of the match honours.

A fantastic day was capped when the news was relayed that Carillon 2s had won 9-0 and therefore also wrapped up their own league title. While Carillon have wrapped up the title with two games to spare, there remains work to do with the aim of maintaining a 100% season still very much in focus.

Hockey results from the weekend

HERE are the latest results for some hockey games from the weekend.

Newark Ladies 1st XI 1 vs Loughborough Town Ladies 1st XI 7; Half Century Ladies 1st XI 0 vs Loughborough Town Ladies 2nd XI 3; Boots Men’s 1st XI 0 vs Loughborough Town Men’s 1st XI 3; Loughborough Town Men’s 2nd XI 2 vs Rugby & East Warwickshire Men’s 2nd XI 1; Panthers (Leicester) Men’s 1st XI 6 vs Loughborough Town Men’s 3rd XI 3; Loughborough Town Men’s 4th XI 4 vs Hamptonin-Arden Men’s 3rd XI 2; Hampton-in-Arden Men’s 4th XI 3 vs Loughborough Town Men’s 5th XI 0.