Sidmouth and Ottery hockey club 1st XI were celebrating on Saturday after they had ended a sequence of 13 successive defeats with victory, writes Stephen Birley.

It’s the first success for the side since the merger of Sidmouth and Ottery Crickets.

The win had been coming for the previous two outings had seen the side edged out by just a single goal, first in a Conference South league game at Ashmoor and then a Devon Cup quarter final with ECVH.

Skipper Ian Brown was central to all the positive play that the team produced as they turned round a one goal half time deficit to defeat previously unbeaten Conference South leaders Isca A 2-1 thanks to goals from Andrew Welch and Mickey Bell.

The second half introduction of Will Gallantree was pivotal to the change in fortunes.

The win was all the more impressive as Isca had arrived for the game with eight wins and a draw and just seven goals conceded in an undefeated start to the season.

The victory does not mean SOHC climb off the foot of the table, but it does mean they now have the chance to head into Christmas a lot closer to safety.

They will no longer be basement boys if they can defeat third bottom Bodmin in Cornwall on Saturday as the side immediately above them, Yeovil and Sherborne, are without a game.