The Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s third team opened their season with a 1-1 draw at home against Bridgwater in a competitive game played at Ottery.

Playing in persistent rain, the home team was made up of a mixture of experienced seniors and talented youngsters.

With Simon Olive taking up the manager’s role, the substitutes rolled on and off throughout the game, giving everyone a chance to add to the team effort.

The home side put several good passing moves together, but with the Bridgwater keeper having a great game, it was the visitors who took the lead with a well taken goal.

The home side had the chance to draw level when they were awarded a penalty flick.

Unfortunately, Charlie Piper’s good effort was well saved by a keeper in form.

In the second half, SOHC applied some pressure and won a few short corners.

They added a bit of variety to the routines and after a few shots were blocked, they managed to level the scores, with Richard Lucas beating the keeper with a rising strike into the net.

The scores remained level for the rest of the match, although things did get more tense, with two Bridgwater players ordered to the sidelines before the game finished.

In the end, honours even made for a fair result and a competitive start to what could be an interesting season.