Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 1st XI completed the first half of their Southern Two season with another outstanding all-round performance as they defeated the team sitting immediately below them at the top of the table, PGSOB A 4-2 on their home surface in Plymouth.

What made the result all the more impressive was that, prior to the game, the home side had seen off all that had visited them before this season conceding just two goals in their previous four games whilst averaging five of their own per outing!

Conditions were not conducive to fast-flowing hockey with sub-zero temperatures and an uneven surface, but SOHC made a confident start and raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 10 minutes thanks to finishes from George Harvey Powell and Lee Clayden.

The home side hit back with a drag flick from a short corner, but that only sparked a response from SOHC that saw them restore the two goal advantage within two minutes from a well-worked short corner with Harvey Powell scoring his second of the game.

Early in the second half the Plymouth side again halved the deficit and it made for an interesting passage of play as the home side pressed and SOHC received a blow when two goal Harvey Powell was struck in the face and was taken off to hospital with blood flowing freely from a wound!

That left SOHC to see out the game with a player short, but the10-men did more than that, adding a fourth from the short corner, awarded after the Harvey Powell injury with Ali Slade applying the finish.

Once back with a two-goal cushion, SOHC saw the game out in some style to deservedly win and they sit eight points clear at the top at the halfway stage of the league season.

On Saturday (December 16), SOHC travel to Bude and, with PGSOB A not playing this coming weekend, it means SOHC can extend their lead to one of a whopping 11 points during the festive break.

When SOHC hosted Bude on September 30, they won 4-1 and a similar score in Cornwall will make it a very happy Christmas for all concerned with the team.

After the festive break SOHC return to action on January 13 at home to a Caradon side they beat 1-0 on math day two of the campaign.