Buccs fifth after defeat
Team Bath Buccaneers’ return to league action ended in a 2-0 defeat against Canterbury, leaving them fifth in Division One South of the Men’s Hockey League with four wins from 11.
In the Verde Recreo League, the A team suffered a 4-2 loss by Truro in the Premiership, whilst the B side cantered to a 5-0 win at Cirencester to remain firmly in control at the top of Conference North. Blu Mcwhiter scored a hattrick, with further strikes from Adam Douds and Dylan Jackson.
The C side edged Chippenham A in a seven goal thriller in Central One, helped by a brace from Callum White and goals from Adam Sandley and James Edwards.
The D team’s struggles continued towards the bottom of the division with a 2-1 loss at Taunton Vale B, opening the gap between the sides to four.
There were nine goals as the E team beat Chippenham B 6-3 in East Central One. James Charlwood and Marcus Bowman managed braces, with the other goals coming from Tom Mehrag and Richard Warwick to remain on the coattails of Corsham at the top, who beat the F team 2-0. The G side suffered a 4-1 loss against Cirencester A, Alex Ares with the consolation.
The ladies’ return to action in the Investec Women’s League ended in a goalless draw at Clifton Robinsons, moving them a point ahead of Cheltenham into third bottom.
In the West Clubs Women’s League, Caitlin Young scored for the second side, but they were beaten 3-1 at University of Exeter 2nd in Premier Division One. It was the same scoreline in East Division for the thirds against Mendip, Nikki Maclean scoring for Buccs.
The fourths recorded a 7-3 victory at Devizes 2nd in Whitehorse Division One, whilst the fifths were beaten 2-0 in the inter-city derby against Division Two leaders City of Bath 2nd, Izzy Johnston scored both goals.
■ CITY OF BATH’S men got their promotion hopes back on track with a resounding 6-0 win over Devizes in Conference North.
Captain Scott Wooley led from the front with a hat-trick, ably supported by Mike Eveleigh (2) and Gabe Hardwick.
The second side continued their difficult season at the bottom of Central One with a 4-3 defeat against University of Exeter F. Not helped by availability issues, Dave Allen managed a brace with Mark Dismore adding the other before two late goals saw them defeated. That was followed up with a 3-2 defeat against Chippenham A the next day.
The B team were beaten 4-0 by Bristol UWE A in East Central One, whilst the C side managed a 1-1 draw at Royal Wootton Bassett A courtesy of a John Mahy goal.
The ladies’ title push took a big dent in Whitehorse Division One, losing to leaders Corsham 6-1 as they open up a four point gap at the top, Rosie Bond with the consolation.
■ TEAM Bath Buccaneers have announced a three year principal club sponsorship deal with Profin, a local company specialising in short-term finance, after their Sitec partnership comes to an end after 25 years, The partnership will begin in the 2020/21 season.
Buccs chairman Nick Kendall said: “This new sponsorship will be key to our progress going forward, supporting our plans for a broadbased hockey programme which includes our high-performance squads and community base for local club players of all ages.
“We would like to thank Sitec for their major investment over 25 years into the club and hockey facilities at our base, the University of Bath Sports Training Village. However, we look forward to our newly-found partnership with Profin which we hope will play a crucial part in Team Bath Buccaneers’ club development on all fronts.”