Positives taken out of defeat to leaders

COALVILLE & LOUGHBOROUGH CARILLON 1ST XI 0 ATHERSTONE ADDERS 5

CLC Men’s 1st took on top of the table and undefeated Atherstone Adders in the latest round of fixtures in Midlands 3 East. A tough ask for the team with the Adders riding high and memories of the thrashing received in the away fixture still fresh in minds.

Although Adders are flying currently and their movement and threat towards goal were clear to see throughout the fixture. However, CLC did not take a backwards step and more than matched their opponents for large parts of the game.

It was testament to the team that Adders had to play some good hockey to break them down.

A well flicked short corner and a scrambled finish were all that separated the sides at the break.

Even though in the lead it was Adders who were the less happy team as the CLC tactics made them work hard for openings. Notable mentions go to new signing Jim Ewing, the everdependable defensive combination of Sam Beavon and Gaz Gamble and the returning Tiernan Maguire who all put in fantastic performances though in truth it was a whole team performance with effort put in by everyone.

Adders pulled away in the last quarter as CLC tired with their captain scoring two very nicely struck goals which showed his class before a final lucky finish in off the post completed the scoring.

While not the result needed, a lot of satisfaction with the performance was warranted with Adders themselves recognising the improvement CLC had made.

CLC 2nd XI had a crunch clash with rivals Rugby 5th XI in the battle for promotion.

With both sides sitting near the top of the table, the three points on offer in this fixture were keenly contested.

A strong second team set about their opponents from the off making sure that the young Rugby side didn’t have time to settle. T

his was a pattern that continued throughout the match which gave the score line, 4-0 to CLC, a one-sided appearance, even though the game was much more even. The goals came from Liam Allen with two more goals to add to his tally.

CLC 3rd XI also tasted success with a 3-0 win over Derby 2nd XI, a welcome clean sheet for the returning Tom McCord kept the back line solid while another returner, Matt Middleton grabbed a brace with captain Ben Mugglestone scoring the other bringing up 20 goals for the season.

The Ladies 1st XI had a 5-0 walkover win, while the ladies 2nd XI came unstuck 3-0 against Westleigh. The Mixed A side also lost 3-0 to Leicester Thursday while the Kestrels won 6-1 with a magnificent hat-trick from Derek Marshall.