Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 2nd XI ended a run of seven successive defeats in their South East One campaign with a 2-1 win at West Dorset.

The team, with the vastly experienced duo of Jon Mutter and Andy Dockley (the pair have over 200 SOHC appearances between them) coming in to provide the stability for what is predominantly a youthful side, were good value for the win.

That said, they did fall behind early on, conceding a goal in the very first minute! However, SOHC were quickly onto the front foot, with former 1st XI striker Will Gallantree linking well with Treeve Harris to cause the home side plenty of problems.

Parity was restored when, following a period of sustained territorial pressure with neat interplay from Eddie Rudolph and Harris, Gallantree found space to slap the ball home to leave honours even at the break.

SOHC began the second half with good tempo to their game. Greg Seward and Euan Webber both impressed and it was fitting that Man of the Match Nick Goode scored the winning goal with a powerful strike.

SOHC did create other chances in a dominant second half, but, with the experience of Browner, Mutts and Dockers snuffing out an increasingly frustrated West Dorset front line, the visitors were able to close the game out and take the points without the need of a third goal.

It was not all good news on the day, though, as Ade Brooker suffered another Achilles injury and limped out of the action after just 10 minutes.