Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 1st XI, with the Southern Two title already in the bag, went down by the odd goal in three to top three rivals PGSOB A.

In what was a classic ‘game of two different halves’, SOHC laboured throughout the first half after falling two goals down relatively early on.

They battled back into the contest, scoring courtesy of a superbly-finished goal from George Powell in a crowded D following a short corner.

Jack Ellison then found the back of the net, but unfortunately a hole in the side netting allowed the ball to creep out of play, making the umpires believe that the ball did not cross the line!

So a rare defeat for the 1st XI, who then rounded off a superb season with a midweek 4-1 success over the club’s 2nd XI.

In their 22 matches, the 1xt XI won 17, drew three and lost just two, winning the Southern Two title by a comfortable margin – the likely final count being 11 points, if PGSOB A win their final game – with third placed University of Plymouth a whopping 13 points back in third place.

? There were mixed end-of-season fortunes for the Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 2nd XI.

In their final Southern Two, Saturday match day fixture, they battled well throughout a second-half blizzard to record a superb single goal success over Marjons C. The team showed real character and served up some terrific flowing hockey against a Marjons side who were both vocal – and physical!

Marjons had the better of the opening exchanges, but once SOHC had seen off the early onslaught, in which the defensive work from Ian Brown and Nick Goode was a key feature, they settled down, and with Andy Dockley and George Mutter bossing the midfield, they soon began to take charge.

It was no more than they deserved when, following a four-pass passage of play involving James Broad and Dan Devine, Max Moore rifled home what proved to be the only goal of the game.

Once again Max Moore, Tom Cutforth and James Broad had excellent games with Joe Button once more superb in goal! Such was the overall performance that, post match, the common view was one of ‘what might have been’ this season, which has ended in relegation, had the team performed throughout the campaign as they had against Marjons.

The team then played their final game of the league season in midweek, going down 4-1 to the SOHC men’s 1st XI.

?The Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 3rd XI were 2-0 winners over West Dorset A in their penultimate South East Two league game of the season.

The match was played out in most unusual weather conditions given the fixture was played on the third Saturday in March as ‘The Beast from the East’ part II played a part in the proceedings!

The cold weather proved to be a distraction from the push back, and it took a while for the home side to get settled and start playing hockey.

Eventually, Dan Hart made the breakthrough with a neat finish into the corner. The half-time interval gave the side a chance to alter the tactics for the second period and, sure enough, a second goal from Hart was enough to secure the points.

An organised defence, with impressive performances from James Plant and Jasper Chun, meant the home side rarely looked like conceding.

The third team complete their league campaign on Saturday (March 24) with a home game against Bridgwater C with the match, at Ottery St Mary, getting underway at 3.30pm.

The men’s fourth team, who are going to finish bottom of the table, were beaten 12-1 by a Chard A side that confirmed their runners-up berth in the South East Two table. The SOHC fourth team wrap up their campaign on Saturday (March 24) when they are away at Taunton Vale D (3pm).