March has been marvellous for City, but now it gets tougher

Hockey - 1st XI take on National League champions

City of Peterborough make the toughest trip in National League East Conference hockey on Sunday...but at least they visit runaway leaders Old Georgians in good spirits after continuing their superb start to March.

City have won all three matches this month after following an East League win over second-placed Oxted and a thrilling English Hockey Tier One Cup quarter-final win over Oxford Hawks with an exciting league success over Teddington at Bretton Gate.

City fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 down last weekend to win 3-2 thanks to two short corner goals from man-ofthe-match Joe Finding and a brilliant individual goal from Cameron Heald.

That was enough to take City off the bottom of the table and two wins from their final three games could well earn them a top seven finish and a place in next season’s National League Division One.

City will struggle to get anything this weekend against an unbeaten team who clinched the East Conference title last weekend having won 13 of their 15 league fixtures, who have scored 88 goals (just short of six a match) in those games and who won 7-1 at Bretton Gate on the opening day of the season.

Current Great Britain international Sam Ward scored five goals that day and he is likely to play on Sunday.

City’s final two games are against the other members of the bottom three, Old Loughtonians and Cambridge City.

City seconds experienced a mixed weekend claiming a superb 4-0 win at promoted East Premier B Division side East London at the Olympic Park on Saturday before losing 5-3 at local rivals Spalding the following day.

Man-of-the-match Paul Hillsdon and Nathan Foad shared the goals in London. Spalding had been well beaten 6-1 at Waltham Forest on Saturday. Shaun Cunnington struck a hat-trick against City.

City host another local rival Bourne Deeping at Bretton Gate on Saturday (11.30am).

It’s also a big weekend for Bourne Deeping’s lower teams as the thirds need a point from their game at Cambridge South to avoid relegation from Division Four North West and the fifths requiring a point from a game against Leadenham to seal the Division Six North West title.

City of Peterborough Ladies were held to a 1-1 draw at lowly Norwich City in their East Premier Division game. Lucy Dakin scored for City who are seventh with two games to go. They host secondplaced Chelmsford at Bretton Gate on Saturday (1pm).

City Ladies seconds made it 18 wins from 19 Division Two North West games with a 3-2 win at Cambridge Nomads. Holly Finding (2) and Masie Brownlow scored for City.

Melanie Burrows scored twice for City thirds in a 4-0 win over Wisbech seconds in Division Three North West.

Goalmouth action from the National League East Conference match between City of Peterborough (red) and Teddington.