Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 4th XI went down 5-2 when they travelled to Yeovil and Sherborne for what turned out to be a competitive encounter.
Impressively, given that the team made the trip with a bare 11, including youngster Charlie Board, who is new to the side, they competed in all areas of the pitch, particularly in the first half.
While it wasn't against the run of play in an even encounter, it was the home side that took the lead. SOHC responded well and equalised with a well-taken goal by Richard Lucas, and the sides trooped off at the break all square at 1-1.
In the second half, SOHC began to tire, but there was still no let-up in their collective desire to serve up maximum effort.
It was the home side's ability to ring the changes, introducing fresh legs that made the difference in the second half as they scored four more times before Lucas bagged his second of the game with a well-deflected shot beating the keeper.
Tomorrow (Saturday) the 4th XI are in Ottery action with a 3.30pm start for their meeting with Taunton Vale E. When the sides met in Somerset in October, the home side won 4-1.
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